back to article 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 “ …

  1. Duncan Macdonald
    Mushroom

    Skynet

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

    1. Tigra 07
      Terminator

      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.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Skynet

      Slurp slurps more slurp?

  2. Neal McQ

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

    1. Claptrap314 Silver badge

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

  3. Adam 52 Silver badge

    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.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

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

      1. Adam 52 Silver badge

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

  4. 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...

    1. JoshOvki

      Re: Guam?

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

      Which one?

    2. 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.

  5. 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?

    1. Oneman2Many

      Re: Net Neutrality

      Google is an ISP in some areas

    2. SinisterFiber
      Unhappy

      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.

  6. 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.

    1. Korev Silver badge
      Black Helicopters

      Re: Shadow Actors

      You forgot the icon -->

  7. Voland's right hand Silver badge

    Brexiting mermaid

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

    1. Lars Silver badge
      Coat

      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,

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