Transpacific Unity Fiber Optic Cable Leaves Japan

JoshuaInNippon writes "The 10,000 km (6,200 mile) long Unity fiber optic cable, funded by Google and five East Asian communication companies, left Japanese shores on November 1st to be laid along the northern Pacific Ocean floor. The Japanese end of the cable is expected to be fused to the American end sometime around November 11th. The cable, which was announced in February of 2008 at a cost of around $300 million USD, has the theoretical capacity of 7.68 Tbps, but will be set at a capacity of about 4.8 Tbps (supposedly equivalent to about 75 million simultaneous phone calls) during its initial use. When Unity begins full operation sometime early next year, it is projected to increase internet traffic capacity between the two regions by over 20%, a wonderful boost to transpacific relations!"

Comments

Re:How does that work, exactly?

[UnHolier than ever]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Submarine_communications_cable#Optical_telephone_cables

Yes, you need repeaters every 100km or so, which are powered through the cable by DC current.

Other than that, I think it just lays in the bottom, yes. These are sturdy cable, they weigh about 10 kg/m.

Re:How does that work, exactly?

[jeffmeden]

Wikipedia, pfffft. I learned all I need to know about Trans Oceanic Fiber Optic cables in 56 short pages thanks to Neal Stephenson... http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/4.12/ffglass.html