Facebook, Google unveil Asia-Pacific undersea data cable plans
Google and Facebook have unveiled plans for two new undersea data cables linking North America and the Asia-Pacific region, weeks after halting one destined for Hong Kong.
Facebook said on Sunday it would be investing with partners on the subsea cables known as Echo and Bifrost to connect Singapore, Indonesia and North America, which would increase overall transpacific capacity by 70 percent.
“Around the world, the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the need for reliable internet access,” Facebook said on its engineering blog on Sunday.
“Echo and Bifrost will support further growth for hundreds of millions of people and millions of businesses.”
For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
Google indicated Monday it would participate in the Echo cable which would run from Eureka, California to Singapore, “with a stop-over in Guam” and a future connection to Indonesia.
“Echo will be the first-ever cable to directly connect the US to Singapore with direct fiber pairs over an express route,” Google Cloud vice president Bikash Koley said.
Earlier this month, the two firms halted efforts on a planned undersea cable that would have connected California and Hong Kong, due to tensions between the United States and China.
Last year, the US Department of Justice recommended that the planned cable proposed by Google and Facebook bypass Hong Kong amid concerns it could expose communications traffic to China.
In the new cable projects, Facebook said it was working with partners such as Indonesian companies Telin and XL Axiata and Singapore-based Keppel.
“While these projects are still subject to regulatory approvals, when completed, these cables will deliver much-needed internet capacity, redundancy, and reliability,” Facebook said.
“Connecting Singapore, Indonesia and North America, these cable investments reflect our commitment to openness and our innovative partnership model.”
Read more:
Google to invest $7 bln in offices, data centers across US this year
Facebook’s Zuckerberg lays out steps to reform internet in runup to face Congress
-
Facebook suspends Venezuela’s President Maduro for spreading COVID-19 misinformation
Venezuela’s government on Sunday accused Facebook Inc of “digital totalitarianism” after it froze President Nicolas Maduro’s page for 30 days for ... Coronavirus -
Reporters Without Borders sues Facebook over attacks on media, virus posts in France
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said on Tuesday it had filed a lawsuit against Facebook in France, citing a proliferation of hate speech against media ... Technology -
WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Instagram stop working across the world
WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook Messenger briefly stopped working across the world on Friday.Users on WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger could not send ... Digital -
Alphabet Inc’s Google to cut app store fees on developers’ sales
Alphabet Inc’s Google said on Tuesday it would cut the service fee that app developers pay to its app store by half for the first $1 million in ... Technology -
Google to invest $7 bln in offices, data centers across US this year
Alphabet Inc’s Google will invest $7 billion in offices and data centers across the US this year, down from the $10 billion last year, and create ... Technology