Google's trans-Pacific internet cable goes live

An undersea internet cable funded in share by Google and five other international companies, bringing up to 60Tbps internet speed between Japan and US is all set to start servicing from today.

The 9,000km trans-Pacific cable, dubbed FASTER, lands in Oregon in the United States and two landing points in Japan, namely Chiba and Mie prefectures.

(Photo: NEC)

Though, the system has extended connections to major hubs on the West Coast of the US covering Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area, Portland and Seattle. It also has the capacity to connect other locations in Asia.

In a press release, the manufacturer of the cable, NEC said, ‘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. This is the outcome of six members' collaborative contribution and expertise together with NEC's support.’

‘This was the first trans-Pacific submarine cable built solely by NEC Corporation, employing the latest 100Gbps digital coherent optical transmission technology. We are honoured that the consortium entrusted us to build FASTER. Although we faced many challenges during the construction, I am truly glad that we were able to overcome these and to welcome this day,’ said Kenichi Yoneyama, Project Manager for FASTER at NEC's Submarine Network Division.

‘This epoch-making cable will not only bring benefits to the United States and Japan, but to the entire Asia-Pacific region,’ they added.