Google Plans Fiber-Optic Cable under the Pacific

Google plans to build a fiber-optic cable under the Pacific Ocean to link its U.S. operations with Asia, according to a report in Communications Day.

Google Inc. is planning to build a fiber-optic cable under the Pacific Ocean to link its U.S. operations with Asia, according to a report in Communications Day, a telecom industry news and commentary site for Australia and Asia.

The Unity cable, as it is being called, has been under development for several months and is set to launch in 2009, according to the report, which said Google met with a group of carriers in Sydney last week to discuss the plan.

Google could not be reached for comment, but the company told CommsDay that it couldn't confirm or deny the Unity plan.

"Additional infrastructure for the Internet is good for users and there are a number of proposals to add a Pacific submarine cable," a Google spokesman told CommsDay. "We're not commenting on any of these plans."

But according to the report, Google plans to join the carriers to build a multi-terabit cable. Although CommsDay said it couldn't confirm the carriers working with Google, it said that both Asia Netcom and Telstra had discussed the concept with Google.

The route for the cable hasn't been determined, but it could potentially connect Australia to new and existing cables in Guam and Hawaii, according to the report.

Computerworld
For more enterprise computing news, visit Computerworld. Story copyright © 2007 Computerworld Inc. All rights reserved.

Related Links:

• Go back to category Internet & Networks to read more reviews and articles.
• Go back to Software Magazine's main page.