Google sinks cash into more submarine cables, plans more data centres

Google has made more investments in submarine cables, sinking money into three due to come online in 2019. First up is the Curie Cable System, which will link the United States and Chile. This one's all Google's: the company says it will “control the design and construction process”, so when the cable is in service it can “ …

[Duncan Macdonald]

Skynet

Google ensuring that Skynet has enough bandwidth for all its Terminator drones.

[Tigra 07]

Re: Duncan

Luckily, for now, all Google's Terminator AI can do is dig through your emails, tell you the weather, and beat you at board games.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Skynet

Slurp slurps more slurp?

[Neal McQ]

Does anyone know how much capacity Google/Facebooks/Amazons/Microsofts now own? and what is capacity in comparison to an ISP?

[Claptrap314]

Google's internal network carries more bandwidth than the public internet. Source: when I worked there.

[Adam 52]

If anyone's going on the Google Cloud training course; when the instructor gets to the "Google has its own fiber [sic] network so GCS traffic doesn't share bandwidth" part, mention Facebook, Aqua Comms and Bulk Infrastructure and watch the instructor lie.

[Anonymous Coward]

If you've got your own fibre strands or wavelengths on the same cable, then you're not sharing bandwidth.

[Adam 52]

The part of the training course is about how Google is better than other providers who "only" take dark fibre.

[Pen-y-gors]

Guam?

Guam, the Pacific island that is a hub for cables.

So, if the the fat boy with the bad haircut gets tired of life, and decides to set off a big firecracker on Guam, then trans-Pacific data routing rapidly degrades? Although that would be the least of our worries...

[JoshOvki]

Re: Guam?

"So, if the the fat boy with the bad haircut gets tired of life"

Which one?

[Alan1kiwi]

Re: Guam?

A comment from a US Navy person from a little while ago, was Guam stood for Give Up and Masterbate. I have no reason to contradict this story.

[deadlockvictim]

Net Neutrality

Does Google own any ISPs?

I wonder if Google will be able to control the speed and volume of the flow to or from certain providers over their cables?

For example, if Google decided that they really, really didn't like Bing, would they be legally allowed to throttle requests to or from Bing over her cables?

[Oneman2Many]

Re: Net Neutrality

Google is an ISP in some areas

[SinisterFiber]

Re: Net Neutrality

Given that the FCC just reversed the 2015 Open Internet Order on Dec. 14th 2017 and that vote will probably not get rescinded in pending lawsuits, then yes within US domiciled ISP infrastructure.

There will probably be different rules within EU and other jurisdictions. Thus there will be contentions (lawsuits) over which rules apply on international traffic.

[Wolfclaw]

Shadow Actors

Once laid and connected, watch for unmarked choppers landing support personal to "repair" the cables and unexpected loss of connections for minutes in middle ocean.

[Korev]

Re: Shadow Actors

You forgot the icon -->

[Voland's right hand]

Brexiting mermaid

Danish cable has interesting route. Bypassing the usual suspect...

[Lars]

Re: Brexiting mermaid

"Danish cable has interesting route. Bypassing the usual suspect...".

Certainly not a Brexit believer but it's simply faster and cheaper to pull a cable direct to Denmark than first to the UK, across the country and across the sea to Denmark, nor is it anything new,