Google has already installed the first section of the submarine Internet cable that will link the township of Cape Town, South Africa, to Lisbon. The company has started with the installation of the fiber optic cable in Lomé, Togo. With this project, Google intends to bring Internet connection to millions of people in Africa and Europe. In Togo itself, where the installation has started, and according to DataReportal data, it is estimated that 74% of the population has no Internet connection.
Google begins installation of what will be its nineteenth submarine fiber optic cable
In keeping with Google’s expectations, this submarine fiber optic cable will be capable of increasing Internet connectivity 20-fold in the regions it crosses. The technology company began investing massively in submarine fiber-optic cables a decade ago. The first of its cables, known as the Unity project, has been linking the Japanese town of Chikura to Redondo Beach in California since 2010.
Since then Google has installed, either on its own or as part of a consortium with other companies, a total of 19 submarine cables. Its most recent completed project, called Dunant, became operational in January 2021 and runs from Virginia Beach in the United States to the coast of France.
Alphabet, the company to which Google belongs, is not the only major technology company installing submarine cables to bring the Internet to the farthest corner of the planet. Google is one of the dominant companies in this field, but it competes with other giants such as Meta, Microsoft or Amazon. Without going any further, Mark Zuckerberg’s company announced last month its intention to build two transatlantic submarine cables by 2027.
In total, there are in the world 428 submarine cables to provide Internet connectivitythe vast majority of which are managed by private companies. Together they total a length of just over 1 million kilometers.
