The new cable will connect a number of data centers in China, South Korea, Taiwan and Japan with the U.S. West Coast. The company claims that the New Cross Pacific (NCP) Cable Network will improve connection speeds and boost its competitiveness in cloud computing, writes Frederic Lardinois for Tech Crunch.
Microsoft’s significant investment in undersea cables
Microsoft also announced further deals with Hibernia and AcquaComms. The Hibernia cable will improve connectivity between Canada, Ireland and the U.K., while the AcquaComms cable will run from Shirley, NY to Ireland’s west coast.
The Hibernia Express cable will launch in September, when it will become the first new transatlantic cable in 12 years. The new cable will be perfect for incredibly low-latency operations, and will also be capable of handling up to 10 Tbps per cable pair.
AcquaComm’s AEConnect cable will cost around $300 million to build, and uses 130 wavelengths x 100 Gbps per fiber pair. Microsoft is the first customer for the cable, which will also help Microsoft expand its network in Europe.
Data center connectivity of paramount importance
Microsoft states that by investing in the new cables, it will improve connections between data centers in North America, Ireland and the U.K.. “These cables will help deliver data at higher speeds, with higher capacity and lower latency for our customers across the globe,” writes David Crowley, Microsoft managing director for network enablement.
“As people and organizations expect data and information at their fingertips Microsoft must have an infrastructure that can deliver the cloud services, including Azure, which our customers need to support their global businesses,” Crowley continues.
Although he did not provide any further details, he also stated that Microsoft has also been “significantly investing in subsea and terrestrial dark fiber capacity by engaging in fiber partnerships that span multiple oceans and continents” over the course of the past nine months.
In addition to Microsoft, competitors such as Google have also been investing in undersea cable infrastructure. Google recently plowed $300 million into a cable which will connect Japan and the U.S., following on from previous deals in 2008 and 2011.
