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wiredInUSA - August 2012
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INDEX
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.
tag that !