It will be capable of reaching data speeds of 120 Terabits per second. The submarine cable will be spanning the Pacific and connecting Los Angeles to Hong Kong. Google and Facebook is joined in the project by a subsidiary named Pacific Light Data Communication belonging to a Chinese company named China Soft Power Technology, a new player to constructing undersea cables.
It is estimated to cost around 400 million dollars and the fiber will be compartmentalized into five separate sections. Google is reported as saying to American online media portals that each of the parties involved in building the cable will have their own part of the cable to carry their own traffic and do so privately. The cable consists of five optical fiber pairs and each will have a speed of 24 Terabits per second. The cable, 12,800 km in length once completed will become the fastest cable laid under the Pacific Ocean even putting FASTER in second position.
For Google, this is the sixth cable that they have a stake in. The others are FASTER, Unity, SJC, MONET and Tannat. Google is also experimenting with increasing internet accessibility projects in developing regions like India with free Wi-Fi at railways and hopes to launch Google Station in partnership with venues like malls and restaurants.
With this cable, Google along with Facebook expect to bring faster internet that is with less lag and greater bandwidth to its users in the Asia Pacific region, especially with rising demand for data-heavy video streaming. Google will also look to accommodate the data needs of its Google Cloud Platform users as well.
Other noteworthy partnerships in building undersea cables include Microsoft and Facebook teaming up for a trans-Atlantic cable. This trans-Atlantic cable is only half as long as the trans – Pacific one being built by Facebook and Google but the former is faster reaching 160 Terabits per second. Amazon will be expected to build one too but looks like they will be solely investor in it, at least for now.
It’s a sign of increased consumption of data and growing markets in the Asia Pacific region. The Pacific Ocean has seen the most investing for laying of optic cables. Since 2016 or so around 1.5 billion dollars has been invested to constructing submarine cables in the region.
BW Reporters
Regina is a reporter for BW Businessworld. In her previous assignments, she has worked with Independent television Network as a news anchor and reporter in Sri Lanka
