Google has announced it is backing plans to build and operate a new high-speed internet Trans-Pacific cable system called “FASTER” by Q2 2016. In addition to Google, the $300 million project will be jointly managed by China Mobile International, China Telecom Global, Global Transit, KDDI, and SingTel, with NEC as the system supplier.
FASTER will feature the latest high-quality 6-fiber-pair cable and optical transmission technologies. The initial design capacity is expected to be 60Tb/s (100Gb/s x 100 wavelengths x 6 fiber-pairs), connecting the US with two locations in Japan:
The new cable system will be landed at Chikura and Shima in Japan, but will also feature connectivity to many neighboring cable systems so as to extend the capacity beyond Japan to other Asian countries. Connections in the US will extend the system to major West Coast hubs including the Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland and Seattle areas.
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“FASTER is one of a few hundred submarine telecommunications cables connecting various parts of the world,” FASTER executive committee chairman Woohyong Choi said in a statement. “These cables collectively form an important infrastructure that helps run global Internet and communications.”
This new cable will further expand the already complex infrastructure that makes up the internet. “The FASTER cable system has the largest design capacity ever built on the Trans-Pacific route, which is one of the longest routes in the world,” Choi emphasized. “The agreement announced today will benefit all users of the global Internet.”
Google senior vice president of technical infrastructure Urs Hölzle explained the company is making this investment because its products can only be “fast and reliable” if there is “a great network infrastructure” to handle them. “FASTER will make the internet, well, faster and more reliable for our users in Asia,” Hölzle declared.
Everyone knows Google has an obsession with speed. This is yet another reminder that the company has the money to fund its addiction.
See also – New Google Asia servers expected to bring 30% speed boost when they go live later this year and Google Analytics gets Speed Suggestions report to help you boost your website’s performance
Top Image Credit: Kimhiro Hoshino/Getty Images
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