Facebook, Google among Builders of New Transpacific Cable

Undersea communications technology company TE SubCom has partnered up with Facebook, Google and Pacific Light Data Communication Co. Ltd. (PLDC) to co-build a 12,800 km transpacific submarine cable system that will provide the first direct undersea route between Hong Kong and Los Angeles with ultra-high capacity transmission.

Scheduled for commercial launch in summer of 2018, the Pacific Light Cable Network (PLCN) will become the highest-capacity transpacific route when completed largely thanks to TE SubCom's C+L technology, which effectively doubles the available bandwidth and capacity per fiber pair over a traditional C-band-only designed system.

“PLCN will showcase the ultra-high-capacity designs and industry-leading wet plant technologies that have enabled TE SubCom to become the manufacturing partner of choice for the world's most advanced undersea networks,” said Aaron Stucki, president of TE SubCom.

“PLCN will be among the lowest-latency fiber optic routes between Hong Kong and the U.S. and the first to connect directly using ultra-high-capacity transmission,” said Wei Junkang, the chairman of PLDC. “It is certainly gratifying that global technology companies like Google and Facebook have become co-investors in PLCN. It is a strong signal that PLCN will be trusted to address the capacity needs for internet and international communications services throughout the Pacific Rim. We envision this deployment as the initial step in PLDC's construction of a global network.”