# Chile-backed study finds Drake Passage cable route to Antarctica technically viable

_Monday, August 24, 2026 at 8:03 AM EDT · Infrastructure, Science · Developing · Tier 2 — Notable_

![Chile-backed study finds Drake Passage cable route to Antarctica technically viable — Primary](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/KHySyR6J9rvmwETnRdiEMV-2000-80.jpg)

A feasibility study commissioned for Chile's telecom regulator concluded that a fiber-optic cable across the Drake Passage to Antarctica is technically viable.

The study considers a minimum network for three Antarctic facility groups and an optimal version with nine landing points serving bases operated by Chile, Argentina, Brazil, the United States and the United Kingdom. It estimates the minimum build near $370 million and the optimal version around $620 million.

The proposed cable could replace some satellite links and physical hard-drive shipments for research data, but the study does not recommend immediate construction.

## Sources

- [Latest from Tom's Hardware](https://www.tomshardware.com/networking/researcgers-find-a-drake-passage-cable-to-antarctica-is-buildable)

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Retrieved: 2026-08-24T14:36:12.809Z
Publisher: Tech & Business (techandbusiness.org)