Faster web connectivity for Asian users as Google invests $300 million in the production of undersea cables.
Google has teamed up with 5 Asian wireless and telecommunication companies to invest in this $300 million project that aims to deliver users with better and faster web connectivity. The 5 companies that are investing in this project are China Mobile International, KDDI, SingTel, China Telecom Global and Global Transit.
The cables will run, under water, from the U.S. to Japan. If the construction of the cables goes as per schedule, then they should be ready for use by the second quarter of 2016.
The high-speed cable will be nicknamed “Faster” and will have an initial carrying capacity of 60 terabits per second, which is much faster than the standard cable modem. It will connect major U.S West Coast cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and Portland to two coastal cities in Japan – Shima and Chikura.
IT services and products company NEC will be the main supplier for the project.
This is not the first time that Google has invested in underwater cables. Its previous two projects have been “Unity” in 2008 and a SJC (South-East Asia Japan Cable) in 2011.
Google’s Senior Vice President for technical infrastructure, Urs Hölzle said, “At Google we want our products to be fast and reliable… That requires a great network infrastructure, whether it’s for the more than a billion Android users or developers building products on Google Cloud Platform.”
Google has been dedicated to providing maximum Internet access throughout the world. In a project called “Loon”, it seeks to connect rural areas to the Internet by beaming Wi-Fi down from a high-altitude.
