Jane Edwards
Microsoft and Facebook have agreed to collaborate on the development of a new subsea cable system across the Atlantic Ocean in an effort to expand their cloud and Internet service offerings.
Microsoft said Thursday construction work on the 6,600-kilometer “Marea” submarine cable infrastructure will begin in August and is scheduled to be finished by October 2017.
Telefonica subsidiary Telxius will manage and operate the subsea cable system as part of its wholesale infrastructure business.
The partnership aims to provide high-speed Internet connections between the U.S. and southern Europe through the Marea cable system, Microsoft said.
The subsea cable will be designed with an “open†architecture to facilitate equipment updates and will consist of eight fiber pairs with an initial capacity of 160 terabytes per second.
