As published in SubCable News on 22 January 2026.
An exclusive interview with Kendaree Burgess, Managing Director of the Bermuda Business Development Agency
WHAT IS BERMUDA’S LONG-TERM VISION FOR BECOMING A DIGITAL INTERCONNECTION HUB IN THE ATLANTIC REGION? We are steering Bermuda toward becoming the Atlantic Ocean’s resilient, business‑friendly, politically neutral interconnection point for the world’s rapidly evolving digital industries. We believe that we can be the place where subsea systems, regional networks and cloud providers can meet and route digital traffic between the Americas, Europe, Africa and the Caribbean. That vision combines site planning, modern landing‑station capacity development, talent access, and policy frameworks that make Bermuda an attractive, reliable place to land and interconnect subsea cables.
HOW DOES THE BDA COORDINATE WITH GOVERNMENT, REGULATORS, AND INTERNATIONAL INVESTORS TO ATTRACT NEW CABLE LANDINGS? The BDA acts as the principal investment‑promotion body for the Bermuda jurisdiction. We often coordinate and act as the bridge between industry and government regulators, helping big ideas come to life in tandem with supportive policy and infrastructure. We also work to amplify Bermuda’s commercial announcements, work to align permitting timelines and support community engagement between investors and regulators.
ARE THERE SPECIFIC INCENTIVES OR REGULATORY FRAMEWORKS IN PLACE TO SUPPORT CABLE DEVELOPERS AND DATA CENTRE OPERATORS? Bermuda has been effective in creating an environment that makes the island a suitable home for these technology developers and operators. We have passed enabling measures, such as, legislation and planning frameworks that explicitly recognise submarine cable infrastructure and have created a policy environment to reduce permit friction for cable projects as well. Government and related agencies have established pre‑approved landing corridors and an expectation of expedited review for qualifying projects to make the island commercially attractive to both cable and data centre projects, and it is clear that this approach is already working, thanks to the recent Google announcements.
WHAT EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE SUPPORTS SUBMARINE CABLE LANDINGS IN BERMUDA (E.G. CLSS, BACKHAUL, POWER, SECURITY)? Bermuda has identified and been preparing sites suitable for cable landings and landing‑station facilities and private operators have been progressing site leases. Recently, Google announced a $4.8 million lease at our Burrows Hill, and another Google cable – Sol – is in the works for another site as well. The island also offers robust fibre backhaul options to population and business centres, resilient grids and local security/regulatory regimes used by international infrastructure investors.
ARE THERE DESIGNATED CABLE LANDING ZONES OR PROTECTED CORRIDORS TO STREAMLINE PERMITTING AND MINIMIZE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT? Bermuda has identified principal landing areas, most notably Devonshire Bay and Annie’s Bay in St. David’s. The jurisdiction has also structured permitting processes to channel marine‑works and terrestrial permitting through defined corridors and pre‑screened sites to reduce ecological impacts and speed processing. That process is only 70 business days, with other jurisdictions typically taking much longer, providing businesses a faster turnaround time and the chance to jump into their projects sooner.
HOW IS BERMUDA ADDRESSING RESILIENCE AND REDUNDANCY IN ITS DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE—ESPECIALLY IN LIGHT OF HURRICANE RISKS? Resilience is central to Bermuda’s approach to doing business. We have long‑worked with partners and investors on redundant routing options, physically resilient landing‑station design standards, hardened power and backup systems, and operational continuity planning. We have a long history of preparing effectively for severe weather and regularly provide island‑wide emergency planning and stakeholder forums that help align investors on best practice. These factors, mixed in with our world‑class construction regulations and stable business environment, help digital infrastructure businesses mitigate risk when they choose Bermuda as their investment location.
WHAT TYPES OF INVESTMENT MODELS ARE BEING CONSIDERED OR PROMOTED—PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS, ANCHOR TENANCY, OPEN ACCESS? We are structured to host a number of commercial models and promote the structures that best meet investor goals: direct private investment by hyperscalers/consortiums; becoming home to holding companies working in the space to provide a strong and beneficial home base, public‑private partnerships where strategic public assets or land are involved; anchor tenancy arrangements with major cloud or content providers; and open or neutral‑host landing station models to encourage multiple networks and competitive interconnection. The island is open to whichever model secures the best outcomes for capacity, redundancy and attention toward community benefit.
IS THE BDA ENGAGING WITH HYPERSCALERS, OTTS, OR CLOUD PROVIDERS TO STIMULATE DEMAND FOR INTERCONNECTION? Absolutely — the BDA actively engages global network builders and cloud providers. Google’s Nuvem, and the more recent Sol project, are tangible examples of hyperscaler investment and engagement in Bermuda.
HOW DOES BERMUDA POSITION ITSELF COMPETITIVELY AGAINST OTHER ATLANTIC CABLE HUBS LIKE THE AZORES, CANARY ISLANDS, OR VIRGINIA BEACH? Our geographic position in the mid‑Atlantic offers geodiverse routing between North America, Europe, the Caribbean and potentially Africa, rather than serving simply as an extension for the east coast of the United States or Western Europe. The Submarine Communications Cables Act 2020 provides a modern enabling regulatory framework that isn’t matched anywhere else, making it easier for interested companies to know exactly how to leverage when assessing where they want to lay cable. This sort of clear framework, partnered with our single‑window investment facilitation model, reduces friction across the board. Rather than trying to “compete”, we present Bermuda as a complementary and resilient route that increases geodiversity for global networks. Having a mid‑Atlantic waystation that has been built on hurricane resilience can provide a safe and stable alternative to other conventional landing hubs. The recent selection by major subsea projects to route via Bermuda underscores this competitive attractiveness.
WHICH REGIONS OR MARKETS ARE TARGETED FOR IMPROVED CONNECTIVITY—CARIBBEAN, US EAST COAST, EUROPE, AFRICA? Our approach isn’t necessarily built around connecting any specific regions but rather providing opportunities for companies and investors to make those connections where they need to. That being said, we have existing connections between North America, the Caribbean and Europe, and are continuing to engage with Africa and Latin America as new routes are being planned. Our regulations have provided pre‑approved landing corridors and expedited marine‑works permitting, ensuring that global expansion can continue between all different regions, with Bermuda serving as a key waystation. Our main goal in this sense is to provide interoperability with global networks and cables seeking geodiverse mid‑Atlantic routing, rather than dominance of a single corridor.
ARE THERE PLANS TO INTEGRATE BERMUDA INTO BROADER DIGITAL CORRIDORS OR INITIATIVES SUCH AS 2AFRICA? Bermuda welcomes integration and interoperability with major global cable initiatives where there is commercial demand. We actively pursue partnerships and open international conversations so that cable corridors and consortium projects can incorporate Bermuda for geodiversity and routing options.
HOW DOES BERMUDA PLAN TO LEVERAGE ITS GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION FOR GEOPOLITICAL NEUTRALITY AND DATA SOVEREIGNTY ADVANTAGES? Bermuda offers a politically stable, transparent and neutral jurisdiction well‑suited to hosting transit and interconnection infrastructure. Our legal and regulatory frameworks, which are partnered with strong rule-of-law, data protection norms and experienced professional service, let us offer investors an environment where data sovereignty concerns can be addressed while still enabling efficient international transit.
WHAT KPIS OR SUCCESS METRICS DOES THE BDA USE TO MEASURE PROGRESS IN BECOMING A CABLE AND INTERCONNECTION HUB? We track a number of metrics, including the number of confirmed cable landings and landing‑station capacity; leased/approved site acreage and CLS build‑starts; private‑sector investment dollars committed; new jobs created and skills‑training placements in the digital infrastructure sector for our local workforce; latency and capacity improvements to target markets; and a number of commercial peering/colocation arrangements signed.
WHAT IS THE ANTICIPATED ECONOMIC IMPACT OF NEW CABLE LANDINGS ON BERMUDA’S DIGITAL ECONOMY AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT? New transatlantic cables and landing‑station activity are expected to generate multi‑layered economic benefits: direct construction and operational jobs, long‑term professional services demand, such as engineering, security, data‑ops, opportunities to grow local data‑services, and downstream spillovers to fintech, insurtech and other digital sectors that benefit from lower latency and additional capacity. Local workforce development is one of our top priorities. In turn, we’re working with training partners to ensure Bermudians can fill technical and operational roles as the sector grows, starting that mission by springboarding off all the congruent skills our workforce already boasts. Early analyses and local reporting have already flagged meaningful economic impact as projects in this sector move from planning into construction and operation.