Google has announced a collaborative effort with CTC Global to help accelerate grid upgrades across the United States by funding deployment of advanced transmission conductors.
A press release said that the joint move seeks to expand power capacity in regions where Google’s growth in data centers is heightening electricity requirements, aiming to improve reliability and support renewable integration. CTC Global’s ACCC conductors have been used in more than 1,350 projects spanning 65 countries to upgrade transmission lines in strategic U.S. markets.
“Expanding transmission capacity presents a significant opportunity for the power system today,” said Amanda Peterson Corio, Google’s global head of data center energy. She noted that by accelerating reconductoring, the project could “dramatically cut the time and cost of adding and moving electricity to reliably power American homes and businesses.”
“Sol,” a new transatlantic subsea cable designed to enhance global connectivity by directly linking Florida with Europe.
A press release said that Sol will run parallel to Google’s previously announced Nuvem subsea cable, which connects South Carolina, Bermuda, the Azores, and Portugal. Unlike Nuvem, Sol will include a landing point at Google’s new Palm Coast Cable Landing Station (CLS) in Florida, expected to be operational by the first quarter of 2027.
Google notes that Sol will be the only in-service, private fiber-optic cable running directly between Florida and Europe once launched. It is being manufactured in the U.S. and will support Google’s global data infrastructure, which includes 42 cloud regions. The name of the cable supplier was not included, but SubCom, based in the U.S., has supplied four projects that included Google.
Google described the Sol cable as boosting network capacity, reliability, and latency improvements for global users, although no specific technical specifications have been disclosed.
While the concept of undersea cables is well established, the pace of deployment is accelerating as tech giants like Google, Microsoft, and Meta invest heavily in building dedicated infrastructure to support cloud growth, AI-powered applications, and network resilience. Globally, Google has participated in more than 30 subsea cable projects—as owner, partner or investor—including recent systems such as Equiano (Europe to Africa), Firmina (U.S. to South America), and Grace Hopper (U.S. to the U.K. and Spain). Reports say the surge reflects a broader trend for leading tech companies increasingly prioritizing direct control over critical data routes to meet rising demand and ensure reliable global connectivity.
Google has signed an agreement that will provide the first submarine fiber optic cable that will link South America directly to Asia and Oceania.
A press release said that the project, known as the Humboldt Project, calls for a 14,800-km cable that will deliver a capacity of 144 terabytes per second. It will run from Valparaiso, Chile, to Sydney, Australia, via French Polynesia. The system is designed for open access, allowing use by Google and other technology companies operating in the region. “The idea of building this cable is that it can also be used not only by Google but also by other users,” said Cristian Ramos, director of telecommunications infrastructure for Latin America at Alphabet, Google’s parent company.
Currently, Chile’s international digital connections rely on undersea cables routed primarily through the United States. The Humboldt Project will provide a faster, more direct alternative, benefiting not only Chile but also Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil.
While the cable supplier has not been named, Google has previously partnered with manufacturers such as SubCom, NEC and Alcatel Submarine Networks on major subsea projects. Google’s investment is estimated at $300 million to 550 million, with the Chilean government contributing $25 million.
Google announced that it plans to make a $1 billion investment to further expand its Central Pacific Connect Initiative, which includes delivering two new subsea cables, Proa and Taihei.
A press release said that the partners for the two new cable systems include Japanese telecom operators KDDI and ARTERIA, the Private Equity firm Citadel Pacific, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). NEC will deliver both cable systems.
Per the release, Proa, which is named after the traditional sailing canoes of the Mariana Islands, will become the first of two subsea cables to land in the CNMI as it crosses between Japan, Guam and the U.S. In addition to Proa, the Taiwan-Philippines-U.S. (TPU) cable, which is also owned by Google, will be extended to the CNMI.
The Tabua cable, which is to be supplied by SubCom and be operational in 2026, will now be extended to Hawaii. It will add an extra stop on its route from the U.S. to Fiji and Australia. The Central Pacific Connect initiative was launched in October 2023, with the Honomoana and Tabua cables announced as the first two projects. Earlier this year Google expanded the initiative with the announcement of the Bulikula and Halaihai cables.
In addition to its cables connecting East Asia with the west coast of the U.S., Google will fund construction of an interlink cable connecting Hawaii, the CNMI, and Guam in the Pacific. This interlink will connect the transpacific routes, improving their reliability and reducing latency for users in the Pacific Islands and around the world.
Google and KDDI have a long history of collaboration on submarine cables, including cable landings in Japan. CEO Makoto Takahashi said he was delighted his firm was partnering once again with Google.
Until Google’s Topaz cable arrived in Takahagi, the region had not had a new cable land for twenty years. ARTERIA supported the landing of Topaz and leveraging the same landing facilities will expand its partnership with Google to support the new cable. “Connectivity between Tokyo, the heart of the Internet in Japan, and overseas has been concentrated in Minamiboso,” said Tatsuya Abe, CEO of ARTERIA Corporation. He noted that the Ibaraki region, which includes Takahagi where the Taihei cable will land, has been somewhat neglected.
Citadel Pacific owns IT&E, the largest wireless provider in Micronesia. Citadel Pacific CEO Jim Beighley said the new cables would allow IT&E to deliver significantly expanded internet services to the residents of the islands it serves. “The CNMI will be directly connected to international networks for the first time in history,” he said.
5/4/2022 -
Google has announced a project to connect Canada and Japan with an undersea fiber optic cable called Topaz, a project that will connect Vancouver and Port Alberni to Mie and Ibaraki prefectures in Japan.
A press release said that Topaz will have 16 fiber pairs that are capable of speeds up to 240 Terabits per second. “We expect the cable to be ready for service in 2023, not only delivering low-latency access to Search, Gmail and YouTube, Google Cloud, and other Google services, but also increasing capacity to the region for a variety of network operators in both Japan and Canada.”
Google is working with local partners in B.C. and Japan to help complete the project, including the Hupacasath, Maa-nulth, and Tseshaht First Nations. This will be the first trans-pacific cable to connect Canada to Japan.
Google noted that with the addition of Topaz, the company has now announced investments in 20 subsea cable projects. These include Curie, Dunant, Equiano, Firmina and Grace Hopper, and consortium cables like Blue, Echo, Havfrue and Raman—all connecting 29 cloud regions, 88 zones, 146 network edge locations across more than 200 countries and territories.
AMSC’s former largest customer, China’s Sinovel Wind Group Co. Ltd. (Sinovel) has agreed to pay it $57.5 million in two installments to settle a dispute over stealing its technology. It was also fined $1.5 million by a federal judge on July 9, concluding a key stage in a long-fought case of IT theft that stems back as far as 2011.
The story of what happened to AMSC, formerly known as American Superconductor Inc., is staggering in scope. While it made high-temp superconductor wire, AMSC’s biggest focus was its proprietary technology to control wind turbines. The company had a $16 million profit for fiscal 2010, at which time it had some 700 employees and was on an international growth path. In early 2011, its stock traded as high as $260 a share, but later that year, Sinovel, its largest customer, refused to accept a shipment. It was later shown at trial that Sinovel, through an AMSC employee, had stolen its technology. The subsequent losses were later said to be more than $800 million.
The company cut its workforce in 2011 by 150 people, a 30% reduction, with further cuts made over the following years. A lengthy and expensive international legal battle was fought by AMSC in Chinese courts, and in 2013, the Justice Department announced charges against Sinovel. In the last 12 months, AMSC’s stock price dropped to below $3 a share, but bolstered by sales of its collective energy solutions products—and a key court victory on Jan. 24, 2018, where a U.S. jury found in favor of AMSC—and hopes of a significant settlement by Sinovel, it had risen to as much as $8 a share, only to fall under $6 a share when news of the settlement and the judge’s sentence was made on July 9.
AMSC President and CEO Daniel P. McGahn, who following the Jan. 24 jury finding declared that the outcome was “a victory for the rule of law,” said that the resolution it had reached with Sinovel prior to the sentencing was an important step. “We valued the past cooperation between Sinovel and AMSC which was heralded as the example of Sino-U.S. cooperation in the new energy area. Through Sinovel’s and AMSC’s joint efforts, we have signed a settlement agreement to resolve the previous disputes in a constructive manner that we believe will enable us to move on with our respective businesses. This closes a challenging chapter for AMSC.”.
NEC Corporation has signed an agreement with a coalition of marque businesses to build a nearly 16,000-km-long optical submarine cable.
A press release said that NEC was selected by The Bay to Bay Express Cable System (BtoBE) coalition composed of China Mobile International, Facebook and Amazon Web Services. Its mandate is to build a high- performance submarine cable connecting Singapore, Hong Kong and the United States. “NEC is honored to be selected by the BtoBE consortium as the turnkey system supplier for this world record-breaking optical fiber submarine cable system that covers the longest distance without regeneration,” it said.
The BtoBE system, scheduled for completion by the fourth quarter of 2020, will feature “multiple pairs of optical fibre that enable high-capacity transmission of data across the Pacific Ocean with round-trip latency of less than 130 milliseconds.” It added that the BtoBE “will further enhance and contribute to the much-needed expansion of communications networks between the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area, San Francisco Bay Area and Singapore.”
The cable will be built with the most advanced optical submarine transmission equipment, thereby improving network redundancy, flexibility and ensuring highly reliable communications, the release said. The BtoBE, landing at three locations spanning across the Pacific Ocean, is designed so that once completed, it can carry at least 18Tbs of capacity per fiber pair, said Toru Kawauchi, general manager of the Submarine Network Division at NEC Corporation. “The BtoBE will provide seamless connectivity and network diversity ... and complement other Asia-Pacific submarine cables, among others.”
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A consortium that includes RTI Connectivity Pte. Ltd. (RTI-C), AARNet Pty Ltd (AARNet) and Google, together with Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN), part of Nokia, and NEC Corporation (NEC) announced that construction of the 9,500-km-long Japan-Guam-Australia Cable System (JGA) has officially begun.
A press release said that the undersea fiber optic cable system, designed for capacity of more than 36 terabits per second (Tbps), is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2019.
JGA is being co-built by ASN and NEC. JGA South (JGA-S), the segment between Sydney, Australia and Piti, Guam, is a consortium cable including AARNet, Google and RTI-C. JGA North (JGA-N), the segment between the Minami-Boso, Japan and Piti, Guam, is a private cable with RTI-C as the sole purchaser. Both JGA-N and JGA-S will interconnect in Guam at GTA’s newly built landing station.
“We are honored to be selected once again by RTI-C to construct their third subsea cable,” said Toru Kawauchi, general manager of NEC’s Submarine Network Division said. “While both SEA-US and HK-G will provide horizontal East-West connectivity across the Pacific, JGA will now provide the much-needed vertical North-South connectivity, enabling high capacity communications to reach all corners. Further, JGA will be the second project after HK-G to be co-financed by the Japanese government-led Japan ICT Fund, and the third project supporting RTI’s investment after SEA-US and HK-G for the Japanese loan syndicate. We wish to further utilize these funds for many more cables in the future.”
JGA will further enhance and contribute to the much-needed expansion of communications networks from Japan and Australia, to Asia and the U.S., the release said. That, it noted, will improve network redundancy, ensuring highly reliable communications and expanding onward connectivity options in Guam.
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