Digital Port
Welcome to the only transatlantic cable landing location in the center of the East Coast.
The Virginia Beach MSA has long been known for two world-class assets: the largest military community in the US and the Port of Virginia, a key gateway for global commerce. With 50-foot channels, six marine terminals, and the largest container cranes in the world, the Port of Virginia connects global businesses to their customers anywhere. Virginia Beach is now a digital port, shipping data at the highest rates possible around the world. 
Transoceanic Fiber Cables to Connect North America to Brazil and Europe from Virginia Beach
The first transoceanic fiber cable connections in the Mid-Atlantic are coming to Virginia Beach. In March 2016, Spanish telecom giant Telefónica announced plans to connect Rio de Janeiro and Fortaleza, Brazil to Virginia Beach with the BRUSA ultrafast submarine cable. This connection will increase the availability of ultrahigh-speed broadband services between the US and South America.
In May 2016, Microsoft and Facebook announced plans to build “MAREA”—a new, state of the art subsea cable connecting Bilbao, Spain to Virginia Beach. This will be the highest-capacity subsea cable to cross the Atlantic with an estimated design capacity of 160 terrabits per second.
Other Initiatives:
- The Virginia Beach Development Authority approved sale of a 3.5-acre site in Corporate Landing to Telefónica International Wholesale Services USA, Inc. for $735,000 for construction of a 24,000-square-foot data center that will support both projects.
- Globalinx Data Center, LLC, headquartered in Virginia Beach, has agreed to purchase 10 acres of land for $2 million in the Corporate Landing Business Park from the Virginia Beach Development Authority. The company plans to develop a 138,000-square-foot international, carrier-neutral data center to provide connections for numerous fiber providers.
- The City’s Information Technology Department began an infrastructure improvement program in 2015. This proactive modernization effort made us ready and attractive as a transoceanic cable landing site.
Data Centers
Virginia Beach is plugged in and ready to go with a world-class telecommunications system complete with a data center and development park with available sites, certified Virginia Dominion Power data center sites, and available fiber access hubs, which makes communicating globally easy and reliable.
The city's infrastructure and economic potential have been ranked in the top 10 for mid-sized cities in the Western Hemisphere.
In addition to being the newest cable landing site destination on the East Coast, Virginia Beach boasts a robust broadband infrastructure that is being upgraded to support the next generation of telecommunication systems. A regional backbone will soon connect the area's major government and education facilities and enable commercial and residential access to ultra-high speed networks.