Fathom

Legal

Terms of use

The rules for using the Fathom subsea capacity marketplace during the pilot.

Draft — to be reviewed by counsel before launch. This is a working first draft for the pilot. It is not yet final, and bracketed items are placeholders.

Last updated: 28 September 2026 (draft)

1. About these terms

These terms govern access to and use of the Fathom marketplace at fathom-exchange.com, including the Fathom app (the “Service”), operated by [legal entity name, registered number and address] (“Fathom”, “we”). By creating an account or using the Service on behalf of an organisation, you accept these terms for that organisation and confirm you are authorised to do so.

2. Eligibility and accounts

The Service is for businesses that own, hold rights to, or procure subsea cable capacity. Accounts are created by Fathom at its discretion following an access request. You must keep your credentials secure, keep your account details accurate, and tell us promptly of any unauthorised use. You are responsible for activity under your account.

3. What Fathom does

Fathom operates a blind marketplace. Sellers post offers of capacity; buyers post requests. Fathom, as operator, may propose matches between offers and requests and may run auctions to which it invites eligible participants. Fathom decides, at its discretion, which matches to propose and which auctions to run, and does not guarantee that any listing will be matched or sold.

Fathom is not a party to the capacity contract between buyer and seller, does not own or operate cable systems, and does not buy or sell capacity on its own account. Reference data in the Service about landing stations and cable systems is illustrative during the pilot and must not be relied on; participants are responsible for verifying routes, systems and technical specifications with their counterparty.

4. Listings

You may list only capacity you have the right to sell (as a seller), or requirements you genuinely intend to fulfil (as a buyer). Listings must be accurate and complete, including route, product, capacity, contract type (IRU or lease), term, pricing (NRC, MRC, reserve or maximum rate), ready-for-service date and protection. You must keep listings current and withdraw capacity that is no longer available.

5. Proposals, auctions and deals

  • Proposals. A proposal sets out firm terms. A deal is formed when both the seller and the buyer accept it before it expires and the capacity is still available.
  • Auctions. A bid is a binding offer to transact at the bid rate on the lot’s terms. When an auction is awarded under its stated format (English, sealed first-price or sealed second-price), a deal is formed between the lot owner and the winning bidder at the clearing rate. Fathom may cancel an auction before it is awarded.
  • Payment and activation. The buyer must pay the initial invoice (the deal’s NRC plus the first month’s MRC) through the Service. Until payment, the deal may be cancelled by either party or by Fathom, and the capacity returns to the book. On payment the deal becomes active and each party’s name, company and country are disclosed to the other.
  • Capacity contract. The parties shall enter into a capacity agreement (IRU or lease) consistent with the deal terms [within N business days; describe the relationship between the deal record and the definitive agreement, and treatment of the initial invoice payment].

6. Commission and payment

For each deal formed through the Service, the seller shall pay Fathom a commission of 3% of the total contract value (TCV), where TCV is the deal rate multiplied by the capacity and the term in months. Buyers pay no commission. There is no charge for listing. The fee and the seller’s net proceeds are shown to the seller before acceptance. [Invoicing timing, payment terms, taxes, currency (USD), and treatment of deals cancelled or terminated after activation.]

Payments are processed by Stripe and are subject to Stripe’s terms. Fathom does not store card or bank account numbers.

Participants must not use information obtained through the Service to conclude, outside the Service, a transaction with a counterparty introduced through it in order to avoid the commission [non-circumvention period].

7. Confidentiality

Fathom keeps each participant’s listings, prices, bids and identity confidential and discloses them only as described on the Trust page and in the privacy notice: to the counterparty of a proposal or auction (terms only, with identity shown as an alias), to the counterparty of an active deal (identity), and to Fathom’s operators. Participants shall keep confidential the terms of proposals, auctions and deals they see, and shall not attempt to identify counterparties before a deal is active.

8. Acceptable use

  • No false, misleading or placeholder listings, and no bids you do not intend to honour.
  • No collusion, bid rigging or coordination with other participants.
  • No attempts to discover hidden prices or identities, access other accounts, or probe, scrape, overload or bypass the security of the Service.
  • Compliance with applicable law, including sanctions, export control and competition law.

9. Pilot service and warranties

The Service is a pilot. It is provided “as is” and “as available”, without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including fitness for a particular purpose, availability, or accuracy of reference data, to the fullest extent permitted by law. Features may change or be withdrawn. Fathom holds no regulatory licences or approvals and does not provide legal, financial or technical advice.

10. Liability

To the extent permitted by law, Fathom is not liable for indirect or consequential loss, loss of profit, revenue or business, or for the performance of any capacity contract between participants. Fathom’s total liability arising from the Service is limited to [the commission paid to Fathom in the 12 months before the claim / a fixed amount]. Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot be limited by law.

11. Suspension and termination

You may close your account at any time by contacting us; deals already formed remain binding. Fathom may suspend or close accounts that breach these terms or put the marketplace at risk, and may end the pilot on reasonable notice.

12. Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of [jurisdiction], and disputes are subject to the [exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of … / arbitration under …].

13. Changes and contact

We will update these terms before general launch and will notify account holders of material changes. Questions: .