Google’s New Trans-Pacific Cable System to Boost Cloud Computing

The two tech-giants Google and NEC have completed the construction and end-to-end testing of a new trans-Pacific submarine cable system. The 9,000 km Faster Cable System supports coherent transmission technology, using optimized fibers throughout the submarine portion. The cable system landing points cover Oregon in the United States, two points in Japan, Chiba and Mie. The system can deliver 60 Terabits per second of bandwidth across the Pacific.

“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, and today it becomes a reality,” said Hiromitsu Todokoro, Chairman of the FASTER Management Committee. “This is the outcome of six members’ collaborative contribution and expertise together with NEC’s support.”

The new data center in Tokyo is part of Google’s aspiration to lead cloud computing and other enterprise service offerings. Google is ranked third in the public cloud stakes, with AWS and Microsoft Azure out ahead, it has been making strides in recent months. Besides the Tokyo data center launch, another was opened in Oregon, and there are plans for a further ten over the course of 2017.

“Today, Google’s latest investment in long-haul undersea fiber optic cabling comes online: the FASTER Cable System gives Google access to up to 10Tbps (Terabits per second) of the cable’s total 60Tbps bandwidth between the US and Japan,” said Alan Chin-Lun Cheung, a Google Submarine Networking Infrastructure.

He also said that “We’ll use this capacity to support our users, including Google Apps and CloudPlatform customers. This is the highest-capacity undersea cable ever built — about ten million times faster than your average cable modem — and we’re beaming light through it starting today.”