Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) is now using a trans-Pacific cable that provides Internet speeds of 10 terabits per second. It will give support to Google Apps and Cloud Platform users. The technology is part of the FASTER project, also funded by five telecommunication companies.
The fiber optic cable installed undersea is 5592,341 miles long. It connects ports in Japan and the United States’ West Coast. Google said on Thursday that the cable’s total bandwidth is 60 terabits per second.
The cable also belongs to KDDI, China Mobile International, Global Transit, SingTel and China Telecom Global, said tech provider of the project NEC. The five companies made an alliance in 2014 to provide faster services in Asia, which accounts for 48.2 percent of all Internet users worldwide.
The cable system is connected to areas in the U.S. West Coast, including Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area, Portland, and Seattle. Building such as technology was a challenge, said Hiromitsu Todokoro, Chairman of the FASTER Management Committee.
“From the very beginning of the project, we repeatedly said to each other, ‘faster, Faster and FASTER,’ and at one point it became the project name. We faced many challenges during the construction. I am truly glad that we were able to overcome these and to welcome this day,” added Todokoro.
FASTER is ten million faster than the average cable modem
Google said the cable is ten million times faster than an average cable modem. The tech giant is planning to expand its Cloud services in East Asia and Tokyo by the end of 2016. As a result, users would enjoy at faster data transfers.
The FASTER Cable System is connected to two landing points in Japan, located outside the Tsunami area. As a result, the country won’t be affected by network outages if a Tsunami or seismic movement takes place.
Japan and Google’s data centers are closer than ever. The new connection will provide “lower latency and greater responsiveness” for all services using Google Cloud. Japan is one the first world’s consumers of products connected to the Internet of Things.
Google-funded $300 million 60Tbps trans-pacific cable goes live tomorrow https://t.co/MWwds7z2se pic.twitter.com/6Jz6syv82f
— The Next Web (@TheNextWeb) June 30, 2016
Microsoft and Facebook are currently collaborating to build a 160Tbps undersea cable
Microsoft and Facebook will surpass Google and telecommunication companies in 2017, with an even faster undersea cable. It will extend from the United States to Europe, providing speeds of 160Tbps. Both tech giants are planning to accelerate transfer speeds between the two continents.
Project MAREA is expected to begin in August 2016, by the management of Telxius, a telecommunications infrastructure company. The 4101,05-miles-long cable seeks to respond to higher demands of cloud services.
Microsoft has more than 200 services connected to the cloud, including Bing, Office 365, Skype, and Xbox Live. On the other hand, Facebook said it wants to speed up “deep connections and shared experiences.”
There will be an estimated 38.5 billion devices connected to the Internet of Things by 2020, according to research firm Juniper. Autonomous vehicles would be connected through a massive network, to share data and driving algorithms continuously.
Source: Google Cloud Platform Blog