Google Announces Grace Hopper Submarine Cable Connecting U.S. and Europe
Googleย has announced plans to build a newย submarine fiber optic cableย connecting theย 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
Theย Grace Hopper Cable, named after computer programming pioneer and Rear-Admiral in the United States Navy, will featureย 16 fiber pairs. Notably, it will incorporate advances inย optical fiber switchingย 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 improveย subsea network resiliency.
Submarine Fiber Optic Cable Route and Benefits
Theย Grace Hopper Cableย will run from theย 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, includingย Curie, Dunant, and Equiano.
Furthermore, the cable will connectย Google Cloud regionsย 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, theย Grace Hopper cableย will become one of only a handful of new cables to connect theย 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 aย subsea cable network to Spain. Therefore, it represents a significant expansion of connectivity options in Southern Europe.
Enhanced Global Network Connectivity
Theย Grace Hopper Cableย will better connect America, the U.K., and the rest of Europe with theย Equiano cable. Currently, Equiano is under construction betweenย 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 asย Meet, Gmail, and Google Cloud. The Grace Hopper Cable will be Google’sย 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 inย 5 subsea cable projects.
Learn more about Google’s infrastructure at https://www.google.com
