Google to build transpacific cable to boost speed

Google is investing in a project to build a transpacific cable system to satisfy its need in Internet speed.

The US$300-million underwater cable system, named Faster, will have a capacity of 60 terabits per second.

The network will connect two coastal locations in Japan with major US cities in the West Coast, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland and Seattle.

The locations in Japan will be Chikura and Shima, but the network is planned to be connected to neighboring cable systems so as to extend the capacity to other Asian countries.

"At Google we want our products to be fast and reliable, and that requires a great network infrastructure, whether it's for the more than a billion Android users or developers building products on Google Cloud Platform," said Urs Holzle, Google's senior vice president of technical infrastructure.

Construction is expected to begin soon. Google is hoping to bring the cable system into operation in the second quarter of 2016.

Google has joined five other companies to finish the project, including China Mobile International, China Telecom Global, Global Transit, KDDI, and SingTel.