The submarine cable extension covers the region's 4G and 5G network needs and is designed to deliver more than 190 TB per second. It is expected to begin operating in 2024.
The new Apricot submarine cables will build on existing cables: Echo, which connects to Indonesia; and Bifrost to Guam, which are approximately 1.1 million kilometers long and account for the majority of global internet traffic.
“Echo and Apricot are complementary systems that will offer benefits with multiple routes in and out of Asia, ensuring a significantly greater degree of resilience for Google Cloud and digital services. Together, they will provide businesses with lower latency, more bandwidth, and greater resilience in their connectivity between Southeast Asia, North Asia, and the US,” the company states.
Google states that this implementation will have a measurable impact on regional economic activity. In an analysis by the consulting firm Analysys Mason, its network investments would have generated an additional $430 billion in the Asia-Pacific region's aggregate GDP and 1.1 million additional jobs. In total, the company is involved in 18 submarine cables, including the Grace Hopper project, which will connect Spain with the United Kingdom and the United States in 2022.