Walter Finch
US internet giant Google has announced plans to lay a massive new cable under the Atlantic ocean linking Spain directly with the United States.
The cable, dubbed ‘Sol’ , will land in Santander and marks only the second direct telecommunications link between Spain and America.
It comes as the tech giant scrambles to meet surging demand from the new, all-conquering tech of artificial intelligence.
The project comes with backing from Spain’s Telefonica through its infrastructure arm Telxius, partly owned by Zara founder Amancio Ortega.
Sol will stretch across the Atlantic from Palm Coast in Florida to connect Spain, the US, Bermuda and the Azores, creating what Google describes as key connectivity hubs that will boost local economies whilst delivering AI benefits to businesses and consumers worldwide.
The cable represents a hefty investment in Spain and its infrastructure, though Google has kept quiet about the exact financial commitment involved.
When completed, Sol will be the only fibre optic cable in service between Europe and Florida, manufactured entirely in the United States.
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“This will provide added capacity whilst increasing reliability and reducing latency for Google users and Google Cloud customers,” the company stated.
The announcement comes just four years after Google’s Grace Hopper cable began operations, connecting the US with Spain and the UK via a landing point in Sopelana, near Bilbao.
That 16-pair fibre cable was designed to boost service reliability and network speeds across Europe.
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