Facebook And Microsoft Team Up To Build Underwater Cable
Zacks Investment Research | May 26, 2016 05:43AM ET
Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) announced a joint agreement Thursday that will see the two companies build a new underwater cable across the Atlantic. The new “MAREA” cable will help both companies meet growing demand for high-speed connectivity.
According to the news release, Microsoft and Facebook are working together on the cable “to accelerate the development of the next-generation of Internet infrastructure and support the explosion of data consumption and rapid growth of their respective cloud and online services.”
Construction of the cable will begin in August, and the project will be completed in October 2017. MAREA will be the highest capacity cable to ever cross the Atlantic with eight fiber pairs and an estimated 160Tbps.
Although Facebook and Microsoft teamed up on the design and production of the cable, it will be operated and managed by Telefonica’s (VIV) Telxius.
“The MAREA transatlantic cable we're building with Facebook and Telxius will provide new, low-latency connectivity that will help meet the increasing demand for higher-speed capacity across the Atlantic,” said Christian Belady of Microsoft.
"Facebook wants to make it possible for people to have deep connections and shared experiences with the people who matter to them most — anywhere in the world, and at any time," said Najam Ahmad, Facebook’s Vice President of Network Engineering.
While it isn’t necessarily surprising to see two tech giants team up on a project, underwater cables and other networking gear are typically handled by telecommunications companies. While Telxius is on board with the project, it’s clear that Facebook and Microsoft felt the need to take more control with the MAREA cable.
In today’s interconnected world, the need for global access to high-speed networks has never been greater. Facebook and Microsoft are now leading the pack to provide that.
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