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In 2016, Facebook, Microsoft and Telxius teamed up for the first time to start working on the MAREA project that connected the United States to Southern Europe. The 4,000-mile fiber optic cable was completed in 2017 and was capable of transmitting data at up to 160TB per second, 16 million times faster than the average home internet. Today, there are approximately 380 submarine cables operating around the world, covering a distance of over 745,645 miles. Submarine cables are the invisible force driving the modern internet forward.
Now, Google’s latest deep-sea effort, Firmina is part of the company’s ambitious plan to expand its global internet connectivity in South America. With stops in Punta del Este, Uruguay and Praia Grande, Brazil, it will cross the east coast of the United States to Las Toninas, Argentina. Firmina can be powered entirely from a single power source located at one end of the cable, which provides an important resilience boost. In addition to providing internet access in South America, Google’s submarine cable will help maintain connection in the event of a power outage due to insufficient power. This cable will be developed and implemented by SubCom, which will begin operating from Florida by the end of 2023 and will continue west, landing in Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay.
Today it announced Firmina, the longest submarine cable in the world capable of operating from a single power source at one end if needed. Firmina will operate from the east coast of the United States to Argentina to help improve access to Google services in South America. https://t.co/jZqtZoKYil
– Sundar Pichai (undsundarpichai) June 9, 2021
By using Firmina cables, Google expects to achieve increased network traffic and decreased latency for South American residents and allow them access to Google products such as Search, Gmail, YouTube, and Google Cloud services. The cable is named after a Brazilian abolitionist and writer, Maria Firmina dos Reis, who examined the life of Afro-Brazilian slaves in her novella rsula in 1859. Firmina is Google’s 16th investment in submarine cables, including the Curie cable. which connects the United States and Chile, Dunant which connects Virginia Beach to France and the Grace Hopper cable which connects the United Kingdom and Spain.
Prior to this, Google laid the groundwork for another fiber optic cable that would connect India to Europe via the Middle East. This development occurred at a critical point of connectivity, considering it went through two bitter enemies Saudi Arabia and Israel, which is astounding. While the geopolitical issue remains a stumbling block for Google, the project will reach Israel by 2022 with an expected cost of $ 400 million. Google dubbed this submarine cable project Blue Raman after another prominent figure as it does with most of its Internet cables; in this case, it was after the Indian physicist Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman.
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The new cable is not just about adding capacity, but also about strengthening Google’s current network. The main advantage of submarine fiber optic cables is that they allow the rapid transmission of large amounts of data. With 95% of data and voice traffic crossing international borders, submarine cables make instant communication possible, which means our digital-based society will not be able to function without the nearly 750,000 miles of cable that cross oceans. of the world. The global flow of network data depends on undersea cable networks, which play a vital role in the global economy.
The great technology afloat
In recent years, content providers such as Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Amazon have begun building new submarine cables to further improve network connectivity. Just recently, Google and Facebook announced plans for two new submarine data cables linking North America and the Asia-Pacific region. This announcement came to light after shutting down a cable destined for Hong Kong. To increase transpacific capacity, Facebook and other partners will invest in cables known as Echo and Bifrost, which will connect Singapore, Indonesia and North America, providing a further 70% increase in transpacific capacity. Bifrost and Echo will be the first transpacific cables to cross the Java Sea and their construction will almost double the capacity. Google will collaborate with Telin and XL Axiata on these projects in Indonesia and with Keppel in Singapore. As more fiber optic submarine cables are installed around the world, it will only be a matter of time before we see uninterrupted high-speed Internet services.
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Ritika Sagar is currently pursuing PDG in Journalism from St. Xavier’s, Mumbai. She is a journalist in training who spends her time playing video games and analyzing developments in the world of technology.
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