wiredinUSA August 2012

INDEX

Facebook tag that !

Social networking site, Facebook, has taken a stake in a $450 million project to link South Asian countries via an undersea cable. The project is expected to be ready some time in 2014. “We’re making this investment to support our growth in South Asia and to better serve our users in that region,” said Facebook spokeswoman Charlene Chian. The Asia Pacific Gateway will run from Malaysia to South Korea and Japan, with branches to mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and Vietnam. It will havea total design capacity of 54.8 terabits per second using 40Gbps channels, but it will be possible to upgrade it to 100Gbps per channel when the technology becomes available.

Facebook’s Chian said: “The entire project is expected to cost approximately $450 million, and each of the 12 members of the consortium will have a percentage ownership of the asset proportionate to its investment in the project. We are not disclosing any specifics on our investment.” The other partners in the consortium are TdC, China Mobile, China Telecom, China Unicom; Taiwan’s Chunghwa Telecom; Korean network operators KT and LG Uplus; NTT Communications of Japan; StarHub of Singapore; Viettel Group and the Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group. NEC will build the cable.

wiredInUSA - August 2012

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