Google, international telcos lay trans-Pacific cable system

A group of international companies, including Google Inc., have joined forces to establish an under underwater fiber-optic cable linking the United States and Japan, according to an Associated Press report.

In a statement, the companies said that the 6,200-mile trans-Pacific broadband cable system called Unity will address the expected growth in data and Internet traffic between Asia and the United States.

The Unity consortium includes Indian integrated telecom services provider Bharti Airtel Ltd; Japanese telecommunications company KDDI Corp.; Malaysian Internet company Global Transit; telecom company headquartered in Hong Kong and Singapore Pacnet; and Asian communications and mobile company SingTel.

The group said the construction will begin immediately with suppliers NEC Corp. and Tyco Telecommunications. The project is targeted to be up and running by Q1 2010.

The underwater cable system is expected to initially increase trans-Pacific fiber-optic capacity by about 20 percent, with the potential to add additional bandwidth. The companies disclosed that the system will connect Chikura, near Tokyo, with Los Angeles and other U.S. West Coast points, and will connect to other Asian cable systems via Chikura.