Chile and Google will build fiber optic cable connecting – 01/12/2024 – Tech

The Chilean government and Google announced this Thursday (11) the construction of the first submarine fiber optic cable between South America, Asia and Oceania, called Project Humboldt, which will allow greater digital connection between the regions.

The cable will connect the Chilean city of Valparaíso to the Australian city of Sydney and will be 14,800 kilometers long and have a capacity of 144 terabytes per second. Its useful life will be 25 years.

“After years of work and alliances, we signed an agreement with the company Google to build the Humboldt cable, which will be the first submarine fiber optic cable that will directly connect South America with Oceania and Asia”, said the President of Chile, Gabriel Boric, when presenting the initiative to the press.

This cable “consolidates Chile’s position as the center of digital activity in South America, which opens up opportunities for new industries, jobs and better working and living conditions for thousands of people”, added the Chilean president.

Karan Bhatia, Google’s vice president of Global Government Affairs and Public Policy, added that the cable will help “establish a physical connection with Asia, [e] It will be a 21st century trade route.”

The project will have an initial investment of US$55 million (around R$268 million). Construction will begin in 2025 and will be ready a year later.

The United States Department of State applauded the initiative and guaranteed that it will accelerate “digital connectivity and the integration of South America and Pacific island countries into the global economy.”

The project was named after the German Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859), an outstanding geographer and astronomer who also gives his name to the Humboldt Current that runs along the Chilean and Peruvian coasts.