Google Announces Grace Hopper Submarine Cable Connecting U.S. and Europe
Google has announced plans to build a new submarine fiber optic cable connecting the United States and Europe. The company revealed the project in a YouTube video, highlighting advanced technology and improved network reliability.
Grace Hopper Cable Technology and Features
The Grace Hopper Cable, named after computer programming pioneer and Rear-Admiral in the United States Navy, will feature 16 fiber pairs. Notably, it will incorporate advances in optical fiber switching technology.
This innovation allows for increased reliability in global communications. Specifically, Google can move traffic around if demand changes or if connectivity issues arise. Moreover, this marks the first time this technology has been deployed in a submarine cable.
Google emphasized that the company continuously works to advance technologies like this to improve subsea network resiliency.
Submarine Fiber Optic Cable Route and Benefits
The Grace Hopper Cable will run from the U.S. to the U.K. and Spain. Consequently, Google customers will benefit from better network resilience and reliability. Additionally, it will join other private cables that form part of Google’s network, including Curie, Dunant, and Equiano.
Furthermore, the cable will connect Google Cloud regions and Google’s customers to one another more effectively.
For more information about Google Cloud, visit https://cloud.google.com
Historic Transatlantic Connection
When completed in 2022, the Grace Hopper cable will become one of only a handful of new cables to connect the U.S. and the U.K. since 2003. The transatlantic route was previously saturated by overbuilding during the cable boom around the turn of the century.
Additionally, this project marks Google’s first investment in a subsea cable network to Spain. Therefore, it represents a significant expansion of connectivity options in Southern Europe.
Enhanced Global Network Connectivity
The Grace Hopper Cable will better connect America, the U.K., and the rest of Europe with the Equiano cable. Currently, Equiano is under construction between Portugal and the West Coast of Africa.
This connection will increase capacity on the busy transatlantic global crossroad. Moreover, it will power Google services such as Meet, Gmail, and Google Cloud. The Grace Hopper Cable will be Google’s fourth wholly owned cable.
Beyond these private cables, Google also participates in numerous consortiums that jointly operate cables worldwide. In total, Google has now announced investments in 5 subsea cable projects.
Learn more about Google’s infrastructure at https://www.google.com
