4 important cables of Google and Facebook still do not work after years of construction. Screenshots
According to TechCrunch, in a recent application to the FCC, the two companies applied for a license to activate the Pacific Light Cable Network (PLCN) cable between the US and the Philippines and Taiwan, giving up lane to important areas in Hong Kong and China.
Globally, there are currently about 380 underground cables carrying more than 99.5% of data traffic across the ocean. Satellites, even large planned networks like SpaceX's Starlink system, cannot move data as fast and cheaply as underwater cables.
First announced in 2017, the 13,000-kilometer PLCN cable network is billed as the first underground cable to connect directly to Hong Kong and the United States, allowing Google and Facebook to connect quickly and securely to hubs. data in Asia and unlock new markets. This 120-terabit cable is expected to begin commercial operation in the summer of 2018. However, the PLCN has been severely affected by the trade and technology war with China.
Team Telecom, a US national security unit, is tasked with protecting the US telecommunications systems, including international fiber optic cables. Previously, Team Telecom took nearly seven years to decide to allow China Mobile, a Chinese state-owned company, to access the US telecommunications market before continuing to fight it in 2018 on grounds of security risks. serious country.
Although the subsidiaries of Google and Facebook represent PLCN on file with the FCC, four of the six pairs of fiber optic cables actually belong to a company called Pacific Light Data Communication (PLDC). When the project was first planned, PLDC was controlled by Wei Junkang, a Hong Kong businessman famous for his steel and real estate business.
In December 2017, Wei sold a majority stake in PLDC to Dr Peng Telecom & Media Group, a private broadband provider based in Beijing. Although Dr Peng is not state-owned or controlled, it works closely with Huawei, a telecommunications company that the Trump administration has accused of espionage and stealing. . Dr Peng has also worked on Chinese government projects including a surveillance network for Beijing police. The PLCN has been legally restricted since that time.
Although Google and Facebook have special permission to build, connect and temporarily test a cable station in Los Angeles, USA, but while the network itself is basically completed, Team Telecom has not yet made a decision. specify when the data can be transmitted.
Recently on January 29, 2020, representatives of Google and Facebook met with FCC officials to propose a new method, requiring permission to operate only two pairs of PLCN strands owned by US companies. . Accordingly, the link cable Google will go to Taiwan and Facebook will go to the Philippines.
