Google has just announced that it will be backing a $300 million project to set an undersea cable that aims to boost Web connectivity speeds in Asia. The cable, codenamed “Faster”, is said to be capable of data transfer speeds of up to 10 million times faster than a conventional modem, and will provide a direct connection from the US to Japan.
Stretching 9,620km long, the “Faster” cable will be able to transfer data at a rate of 60 terabits per second from major West Coast cities of the United States – including San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, and Portland to two coastal cities in Japan – Chikura and Shima. As the name suggests, “Faster” will bring a more reliable and a speedier internet connectivity for all users in Asia.
The is also backed by Asian wireless and telecommunication companies alongside Google, which are China Mobile International, China Telecom Global, Global Transit, KDDI, SingTel as well as local telecommunications firm, Time dotCom Bhd. In addition, NEC, an IT services and products company will be mainly supplying the project.
The project is in no way unfamiliar to Google as the company has previously teamed up with other Asian wireless and telecommunication companies to build the Unity Cable System connecting Japan to Los Angeles, US in 2008 and another connecting Japan to South-East Asian countries in 2011. Aside from speeding up Web connectivity speeds, Google also took initiatives to expand Internet access with projects such as Loon that provides WiFi to rural areas via high-altitude giant balloons.
“At Google, we want our products to be fast and reliable,” wrote Urs Holze, Google’s senior vice president for technical infrastructure. 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.
[Source: CNET, Urs Holze, Submarine Cable Networks]
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