Facebook & Google Team Up To Build Massive Undersea Cable System

Facebook and Google will be building an undersea network of internet cables in an attempt to bring internet and faster connections to the Asian-Pacific region.

The undersea network of cables, which is being called Apricot, will aid in connecting Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, Guam, the Philippines, and Indonesia to provide better broadband access and 5G wireless connectivity, according to Facebook.

“The Apricot cable is part of our ongoing effort to expand global network infrastructure and better serve the more than 3.5 billion people around the world who use our services every month,” Facebook stated in a news release.

Undersea cables are responsible for ferrying the majority of international internet traffic. Growing demand for 4G, 5G, and broadband access is resulting in demand for more high-capacity cables to keep the traffic moving.

Apricot will supplement Echo, another cable system announced by Google earlier this year, in boosting the resilience of Google Cloud and other digital services operating in the region.

“Together they’ll provide businesses and startups in Asia with lower latency, more bandwidth, and increased resilience in their connectivity between Southeast Asia, North Asia and the United States,” Bikash Koley, vice president of global networking at Google, wrote in a blog post.

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