Amazon's Compact Facility Aims to Support Transatlantic Connectivity
Amazon plans to build a small Power Feed Equipment building at Ocean City Municipal Airport for the Fastnet subsea cable project. The facility, about 700 square feet, will provide power to the cable without functioning as a data center. It is designed to have minimal community impact and could improve internet reliability for local businesses.
The proposed facility is compact—700 square feet within a 2,500-square-foot compound. It requires no water supply and operates unmanned, with only weekly technician visits. Its power draw of 350 kW is comparable to a rapid EV charger, and it contains no data storage or computation equipment.
Amazon revised its approach after local concerns about larger infrastructure. The Fastnet project aims to link the U.S. and Ireland, and this PFE building provides power to the subsea cable while transmitting optical signals to terrestrial networks. The company emphasizes minimal community impact.
The proposal could enhance internet reliability and speed for local small businesses, potentially enabling better e-commerce, remote work, and cloud services. However, the zoning process may face community resistance, even for minimal infrastructure. The broader impact hinges on whether improved connectivity translates into tangible economic opportunities for regional firms, while residents weigh perceived risks against long-term digital benefits. Overall, it may signal a trend of tech giants adapting infrastructure to local sensitivities.