How Google, Facebook Lay Giant Undersea Internet Cables: Photos

Sep 24, 2023

In total, Google is invested in 19 cable projects around the world.

With the Arabian Gulf section announced on September 28, 2Africa is planned to be roughly 28,000 miles long and stop in 33 countries.

The current record-holder, a cable called SEA-ME-WE 3, is roughly 24,233 miles long.

Jayne Stowell, strategic negotiator for Global Infrastructure at Google, told Insider planning the route can take up to a year.

To do this, it sends out vessels equipped with sonar to map out the seabed and look for risks such as high currents, underwater landslides, and unexploded bombs or mines.

"A plastic and steel sheathing is then added to waterproof the cable and help it withstand potentially adverse ocean conditions such as heavy currents, earthquakes or interference from fishing trawlers," Stowell said.

2Africa is in the process of being laid around the entire continent and is 37,000 kilometers long — only slightly shorter than the circumference of the Earth.

Google's Stowell said the industry uses a fleet of 50 to 55 specialised laying vessels, with capacity for up to 100 crew members. Just loading the cable onto the ship can take four weeks, she said.

"The natural movement of wave action will then cover the cable once the ship moves on," Stowell said.

The plow is only used at a maximum depth of 1,500 meters (4921 feet), Stowell added.

A cable is fairly safe in the deep seas and has no need for burial nor armoring, she added.

Amplifiers help boost the light back to its original intensity.

Stowell said Google's Grace Hopper cable — which was landed in the UK earlier this week — is set to funnel 340 terabytes of data per second, which would mean 17.5 million people could stream 4K videos at the same time.