Google, along with five prominent Asian telecommunications companies, China Mobile, China Telecom, Global Transit, KDDI, and SingTel, is embarking on an ambitious project to enhance global internet connectivity.
The consortium has announced plans to construct a submarine cable under the Pacific Ocean, named “Faster,” which aims to deliver unprecedentedly fast internet speeds across significant distances.
The project, which is estimated to cost approximately $300 million (or £179 million, 225 million euros), involves laying a trans-Pacific fiber cable that will connect the United States with Japan. This cable is designed to deliver speeds of 60 terabytes per second, a vast capacity to handle the transmission of more than 2,000 uncompressed HD movies per second. Such capability represents a monumental leap in data transmission technology, promising to significantly improve internet speed, reliability, and the overall user experience on both sides of the Pacific.
Scheduled to be operational by 2016, this initiative not only underscores the growing demand for faster and more reliable internet around the globe but also highlights the collaborative efforts of leading technology and telecom firms to push the boundaries of what is technologically possible in digital communications. This venture is expected to have a wide-reaching impact, benefiting consumers, businesses, and various services that depend on high-speed internet connectivity to operate efficiently and competitively in the global market.