world domination
GoogleNET Update: Google Buys A Piece Of TransPacific Cable - Google is buying a piece of a new transpacific fiber optic cable, according to research firm, Telegeography. This will be yet another piece of what can be loosely described as GoogleNet, a fiber network built & leased by the search engine & advertising giant to meet its ever growing bandwidth requirements.
Google is one of the six investors in the “Unity” undersea cable that will connect US and Japan. The new cable is going to be built by Tyco Telecommunications & NEC for about $300 million. Telegeography says that Google has been trying to buy a piece of a trans-pacific cable for a while now.
I have written about how Google is using its infrastructure (including network) as a strategic advantage, and this latest move is an extension of that philosophy. It has been buying dark fiber to grow its network, as I had first reported back in 2004. According to Telegeography estimates that trans-pacific bandwidth is eight times higher than trans-Atlantic routes. Google can now get capacity at cost, and it can also squeeze more out of its infrastructure.
“While Google is the first non-telecom company to take an active role in ownership of a submarine cable, it’s not likely that this is the beginning of a new trend,” commented TeleGeography Research Director Alan Mauldin. “Although many non-telecom companies have high bandwidth requirements, few will venture into owning submarine cables anytime soon.”
[gigaOM]
