Google, Facebook Collaborate to Construct High-Capacity Trans-Pacific Undersea Cable

Google unveiled plans on Tuesday to partner with Facebook and Pacific Light Data Communication, a subsidiary of China Soft Power Technology Holdings, to embark on an ambitious project: the construction of a massive trans-Pacific undersea cable.

This monumental cable, spanning 12,800 kilometers (km) of fiber, aims to revolutionize data transfer capacity on the trans-Pacific route. With an estimated cable capacity of 120 terabits per second, it will become the highest capacity undersea cable on the trans-Pacific route, further enhancing the speed and robustness of internet transmissions across this significant region. The completion of this ground-breaking project is anticipated by 2018.

In an impressive display of increasing technological achievements, Google announced earlier this year in July, the completion of a formidable project. The tech giant partnered with Asian telecommunication heavyweights to create an undersea cable stretching for 9,000 km between the US and Japan. This completed link, boasting a data transfer capacity of 60 terabits per second, has already contributed significantly to trans-Pacific internet speeds.

The Asia-Pacific region, representing approximately 40 percent of the global economy, has seen escalated focus over recent years. The United States in particular has zeroed in on the region with amplified foreign policy attention over the last eight years.

However, Google and Facebook are not alone in their quest to enhance global connectivity. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is also championing undersea cable technology with a submarine cable running between Hawaii and Australia.

Earlier in May, Microsoft and Facebook announced a similar collaboration; an undersea cable project across the Atlantic. Named MAREA, project construction commenced in August and is expected to be completed in October 2017.

The process of laying these significant undersea cables involves specially designed ships, capable of laying up to 200 km of cable per day. While the cables themselves are thin, they are reinforced with wires and steel for added protection to withstand the rigours of the marine environment. They are quite costly to maintain especially when damaged. The threat of damage even extends to activity such as shark attacks. In order to combat this, Google reportedly coated its cables with a Kevlar coating in 2014 specifically to prevent shark-inflicted damage.

Through these remarkable advancements in connectivity, these tech giants are certainly driving the digital age into a new era of speed and capacity.