Google Backs $300M Trans-Pacific Cable System for Faster Internet

Google is backing the building of a new high-speed Internet Trans-Pacific cable system that will connect the United States with Japan, according to reports.

The new system, dubbed FASTER, is set to debut in 2016 and will be managed by Google and several other companies including China Mobile International and KDDI, according to the Next Web. The new cable system will feature 6-fiber-pair cable and optical transmission and connect to Chikura and Shima in Japan. Major hubs will include several Asian cities as well as Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland and Seattle, according to the report.

“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. “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."

Urs Holzle, Google's senior vice president of technical infrastructure, said the new system would create "fast and reliable" high-speed Internet in Asia.

It's not surprising that Google wants to speed up and strengthen the Internet in Asia, one of the biggest markets in the world. Google is only footing part of the $300 million bill, so it's likely getting its money's worth if it can secure even a fraction of Asian users who will benefit from the cable system.

Google Backs $300M Trans-Pacific Cable System for Faster Internet

Published August 11, 2014 • Updated on August 11, 2014 at 4:43 pm

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