The submarine cables are called Proa and Taihei, and both will be built by the Japanese technology giant NEC Corp. Google will invest $1 billion in these two submarine cables to create new routes between the United States and Japan.
The planned route for Proa goes through Japan, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), and then Guam. Google’s Taiwan-Philippines-United States (TPU) cable system, which is already underway, will also extend to CNMI.
NEC also builds the TPU and current plans envision it connecting Taiwan, Philippines, Guam, and the United States. It is expected to be ready for service by May 2025.
“As the first international submarine cables of the CNMI, Proa and TPU will together establish a new route between the mainland US and Shima (Japan)”, declared the CNMI.
Y Taihei will offer a direct connection between Japan and Hawaii
The Tabua cable by Google -built by SubCom and expected to be operational in 2026- will now extend to Hawaii, adding one more stop on its route from the US to Fiji and Australia.
“Once completed, the Taihei and Tabua systems will create a diverse route between mainland USA and Takahagi (Japan)”, Google boasts.
Finally, Google is building an interconnection cable between Hawaii, CNMI, and Guam to “connect transpacific routes, improving reliability and reducing latency for users in the Pacific islands and around the world”.
The cable received a mention after Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio and US President Joe Biden met on Wednesday and committed to “making an Indo-Pacific and a free and open world a reality”.
