For giants like Facebook and Microsoft with heavily used web services across the globe, ensure a certain speed of communication it is essential for users to experience the best possible experience and make the most of what the aforementioned services have to offer.
And it is for this reason that the two giants have made a deal to install the largest submarine data cable that crosses theAtlantic Ocean"MAREA“, This is the name of the cable, it will have a speed of 160 terabits per second and will extend into the Atlantic for over 6500 Km (4100 miles), with the first two hubs joining Northern Virginia and Spain (precisely Bilbao).
Microsoft and Facebook will take advantage of the experience of Telxius, an infrastructure manager owned by none other than Telefónica, for the construction, management and expansion of the hubs of MAREA - which, subsequently, will touch not only Europe but also the 'Africa, the Middle East and Asia. According to the plans of the companies, the construction of MAREA will begin next August 2016 and, barring unforeseen circumstances, the goal is to complete it by October 2017.
It is an important step in creating the next generation of Internet infrastructure.
declares Frank Rey of Microsoft, underlining how network services are increasingly used and that there is a need for such interventions to always guarantee the lowest possible latency while following the continuous demand for infrastructure expansion - just think that Facebook currently has over 1 billion and 65 million users and that Microsoft has an entire and widely used ecosystem of web services ranging from Azure to Office 365, passing through Bing and Xbox Live.
Microsoft, among other things, states that its project with Facebook guarantees interoperability with other network devices, representing in fact an indirect advantage for the end user:
This new 'open' design brings significant benefits to our customers: lower costs and easier infrastructure upgrades lead to faster growth in transmission speeds, as the system can evolve at the same pace as technological evolution.
Investing in subsea technology is nothing new, as numerous tech companies have been funding the introduction and operation of similar large-scale equipment for a long, long time.
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Facebook and Microsoft: new submarine data cable between Europe and the United States
