Facebook Inc. and Microsoft confirm plans to crawl the Atlantic Ocean with a fiber-optic cable. The tech giants join heavyweights, Amazon and Google, in a bid for exclusive, streamlined data infrastructure.
The project will accommodate massive data transfers so that each company can reach more people outside the United States. Eight pairs of fiber-optic strands will connect Virginia and Bilbao, Spain. The strands are expected to reduce data latency between the points. The project is also expected to improve both company's services to Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
Data transfer was previously carried out by telecom companies, but the project - dubbed MAREA (the Spanish term for tide) - guarantees exclusive use for the two web companies. This will hopefully improve data transfer speeds, which may suffer if the usual mediums are used. Aside from its social network, Facebook also has WhatsApp, Instagram, and its own Messenger app. Microsoft has Bing, Office365, and Azure cloud services.
Telecom companies are noting the shift. "We're starting to see more of the large Internet content providers looking to build more of their own networks - whether they are leasing dark fiber or laying down new cables to build new routes. It makes sense," Michael Murphy, the President and CEO of telecom consultancy NEF, reports Wired Magazine.
Dark fiber, which are unused terrestrial cables, remain crucial in infrastructure plans of web companies. Aside from laying out new networks, alternative methods are also being exhausted. These will be used on top of currently leased telecom networks.
The wholesale cost of data transfers has declined over the past 15 years, according to a Wall Street Journal report. The markdown doesn't have ay significant impact to the stability of telecom companies. However, there is a scramble to keep revenues up by searching for new sources. At the moment, only large Internet companies like Facebook and Microsoft have the financial capability to invest in private ventures.
