"The Wall Street Journal" reports that Google is laying the groundwork for a fiber-optic network that for the first time will connect Israel and Saudi Arabia, and that will open a new corridor for global Internet traffic, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The project connecting India and Africa is Google's latest international infrastructure project. The company, a subsidiary of Alphabet, is competing with Facebook in building greater network capacity to support users' growing demand for videos, search, and other products. Greater connectivity between India and Europe will also mean that Google will be able to disperse data centers around the world, and compete against Microsoft and Amazon for market share in cloud computing services.
Google is calling the new corridor Blue Raman, after Indian physicist Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman. "The Wall Street Journal" quotes Dubai-based telecommunications firm Salience Consulting as saying that a submarine cable project the length of Blue Raman-at more than 5,000 miles-would cost typically up to $400 million
"The Wall Street Journal" says that Google is expected to turn to telecommunications partners to help fund the project, including Oman Telecommunications Co. and Telecom Italia SpA.
People familiar with the project told "The Wall Street Journal" that it was too soon to declare that it would go ahead. Because the cable crosses several borders, the project will require approval by several standards agencies, and any obstacle could force Google to re-plan its route. For example, the sources said, Google has yet to receive final approval from the government of Saudi Arabia for connecting the Blue Raman project.
The project will probably consist of a submarine cable between Saudi Arabia and India, with connections to neighboring countries such as Oman. It will traverse Jordan and Israel above ground, probably via the existing fiber-optic infrastructure in these two countries, the sources said. From there, Google will assist in laying a submarine cable under the Mediterranean Sea to Europe,
"The Wall Street Journal" said that the background to the Blue Raman project was the diplomatic and commercial agreements recently signed with US mediation between Israel and Persian Gulf states.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on November 24, 2020
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2020