Google Approves 6,560-Mile US/Brazil Undersea Cable Link

Google will soon starting the laying of a 6,560-mile (10,557-kilometre) undersea cable to link the United States (US) and Brazil.

According to Sky News, the fibre-optic cable will have the capacity to move an incredible 64 terabits of data every second, equivalent to 85,000 feature films and a measure of bandwidth unthinkable before the 21st Century.

Brazil has the fifth highest number of internet users in the world and has become one of the fastest growing regions for internet penetration.

It is hoped the new pipe will help bridge the vast socio-economic digital divide in the country

The Brazilian government has been fighting this divide with digital-inclusion programmes for regions that have suffered from a lack of access to the internet and to devices.

And access to the internet by students is particularly poor at 60%.

In 2005, it invested $400 million (£248 million) in social-inclusion programmes, equipment and infrastructure to give poorer populations better access to technology.

It is hoped Google’s cable will provide Brazil with the bandwidth to manage the increase in users.

The fragile glass fibres will be housed in a protective casing protected in a polyurethane jacket and a protective Kevlar-type vest to stop hungry sharks biting it in two.

Undersea cables carry high-voltage power to the signal repeaters and it is thought the emission of electricity and magnetic waves attract sharks who mistake the currents for distressed prey.

“As more people get access to the Internet, more capacity to the infrastructure that keeps the Internet running is needed, so that everyone can have a fast, safe and useful online experience,” Google’s Latin America chief Cristian Ramos said.

The consortium running the project includes Uruguay government-owned telco Antel, African operator Angola Cables and Brazil’s Algar Telecom and the cable is expected to carry its first data packet in 2016.