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<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-au"></SPAN><A HREF="http://www.commsday.com/node/186"><SPAN LANG="en-au"><U><FONT COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Calibri">http://www.commsday.com/node/186</FONT></U></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-au"></SPAN></A><SPAN LANG="en-au"></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-au"><B></B></SPAN><B><SPAN LANG="en-au"><FONT SIZE=5>Google plans new undersea "Unity" cable across Pacific</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-au"></SPAN></B></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-au"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-au"><B><FONT FACE="Calibri">September 21st, 2007</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-au"><FONT FACE="Calibri"> in</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-au"> </SPAN><A HREF="http://www.commsday.com/taxonomy/term/3"><SPAN LANG="en-au"><U><FONT COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Calibri">CommsDay ASEAN</FONT></U></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-au"></SPAN></A><SPAN LANG="en-au"><FONT FACE="Calibri"> |</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-au"> </SPAN><A HREF="http://www.commsday.com/comment/reply/186"><SPAN LANG="en-au"><U><FONT COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Calibri">add new comment</FONT></U></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-au"></SPAN></A><SPAN LANG="en-au"><FONT FACE="Calibri"> |</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-au"> </SPAN><A HREF="http://www.commsday.com/forward/186"><SPAN LANG="en-au"><U><FONT COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Calibri">email this story</FONT></U></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-au"></SPAN></A><SPAN LANG="en-au"><FONT FACE="Calibri"> </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-au"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-au"><FONT COLOR="#000000">Google is planning a multi-terabit undersea communications cable across the Pacific Ocean for launch in 2009, Communications Day has learned.</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-au"></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-au"><FONT COLOR="#000000">The Unity cable has been under development for several months, with a group of carriers and Google meeting for high-level talks on the plan in Sydney last week.</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-au"></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-au"><FONT COLOR="#000000">Google would not strictly confirm or deny the existence of the Unity plan today, with spokesman Barry Schnitt telling our North American correspondent Patrick Neighly that "Additional infrastructure for the Internet is good for users and there are a number of proposals to add a Pacific submarine cable. We're not commenting on any of these plans."</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-au"></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-au"><FONT COLOR="#000000">However, Communications Day understands that Unity would see Google join with other carriers to build a new multi-terabit cable. Google would get access to a fibre pair at build cost handing it a tremendous cost advantage over rivals such as MSN and Yahoo, and also potentially enabling it to peer with Asia ISPs behind their international gateways - considerably improving the affordability of Internet services across Asia Pacific.</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-au"></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-au"><FONT COLOR="#000000">Communications Day cannot confirm the identity of the other carriers working with Google, although we have learned that both Asia Netcom and Telstra have discussed the concept with the California-based search and online advertising giant. One source suggested that the main player behind the planned Asia America Gateway cable - Telekom Malaysia - has not been invited to participate in talks. The same source speculated that at least half a dozen companies are party to the plans.</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-au"></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-au"><FONT COLOR="#000000">The exact route for the cable is not yet finally determined although there are plans for a configuration using two separate routes to provide network diversity. It would potentially also be able to service Australia via interconnect to new and existing cables in Guam and Hawaii.</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-au"></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-au"><FONT COLOR="#000000">The Unity name was first revealed in public in early September when Level 3 executive Mike Saunders listed it as one of several new cables planned across the Pacific in a Singapore conference presentation. Saunders' presentation warned of the potential for the new cables to create a new trans-Pacific capacity bubble, although he did not link Unity to Google. His presentation said Unity was planned for a service launch in 2009.</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-au"></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-au"><FONT COLOR="#000000">Google also hinted at its ambitions in job advertisements earlier this year. In one for a submarine cable negotiator, it specified a job description that said in part "These negotiators will work closely with vendors to identify highly cost-effective solutions under the most favorable commercial and technical terms possible. They will also be involved in new projects or investments in cable systems that Google may contemplate to extend or grow its backbone."</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-au"></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-au"><FONT COLOR="#000000">Google's infrastructure ambitions are no secret. The company has committed substantial expenditure on dark fibre and a network of data centres across the United States, and also recently indicated its interest in bidding for new 700MHz spectrum allocations there.</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-au"></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-au"><FONT COLOR="#000000">Communications Day reported on 8 February that Google had begun peering with ISPs, enabling them to reduce their reliance on transit services via Tier 1 non-peering major IP networks such as Level 3 and AT&T.</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-au"></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-au"><FONT COLOR="#000000">Asked to comment on its hire of submarine cable specialists, Google told Communications Day "It should come as no surprise that Google is looking for qualified people to help secure additional network capacity. In some parts of the world, these people will work with submarine cables because there is a lot of ocean out there."</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-au"></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-au"><FONT COLOR="#000000">Another source said that Google's move could be disruptive to the capacity industry as it takes a major source of traffic - and revenue - out of the general market place.</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-au"></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-au"><B><FONT COLOR="#000000">by Grahame Lynch </FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-au"></SPAN></P>
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<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-au"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-au"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-au"><FONT FACE="Calibri">--</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-au"><FONT FACE="Calibri">Skeeve Stevens, RHCE</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-au"><FONT FACE="Calibri">skeeve@skeeve.org / www.skeeve.org</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-au"><FONT FACE="Calibri">Cell +61 (0)414 753 383 / skype://skeeve</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-au"><FONT FACE="Calibri">eintellego - skeeve@eintellego.net - www.eintellego.net </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-au"><FONT FACE="Calibri">--</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-au"><FONT FACE="Calibri">I'm a groove licked love child king</FONT> <FONT FACE="Calibri">of the verse </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-au"><FONT FACE="Calibri">Si vis pacem, para bellum</FONT></SPAN></P>
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