Google and Facebook will together build an underwater cable system to provide internet access to island nations stretching in an arc from Indonesia to

The data must flow! Facebook and Google funding Apricot – a 12,000-kilometre sub cable across South-East-Asia

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2021-08-17 03:00:05

Google and Facebook will together build an underwater cable system to provide internet access to island nations stretching in an arc from Indonesia to Japan.

The project, dubbed Apricot, will connect Japan, Taiwan, Guam, the Philippines, Singapore, and Indonesia via a 12,000-kilometre-long submarine cable. The fiber-optic system is designed to carry more than 190 terabits per second, to better support 4G, 5G, and broadband connectivity across the region. The cable is expected to go live by 2024.

"Apricot will feature a state-of-the-art submersible reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexer employing wavelength selective switch for a gridless and flexible bandwidth configuration, based on space division multiplexing design," Facebook stated.

It's not the first time Big Tech has teamed up to develop underwater sea internet cables. Facebook and Google are also working on the Echo and Bifrost cables connecting North America to Indonesia and Singapore through Guam. Apricot will join with Echo to provide a very fat pipe going all the way from California to the Japanese mainland.

Google's interest is supporting its cloud and consumer services. So far the Chocolate Factory has stakes in 18 submarine cables around the world.