Facebook, Amazon seek US approval for undersea cable after China Mobile’s exit
- The tech giants hope to begin commercial operation of the data connection between the Philippines and California by late 2022
- The US has repeatedly expressed concerns about China’s role in handling network traffic and the potential for espionage
Facebook Inc and Amazon.com Inc have asked the US government for approval to operate a new undersea data cable between the Philippines and California after China Mobile agreed to exit the plan, a government agency said Friday.
The two companies told the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) they intend to start commercial operation by late 2022 and said the new data connection will provide significant new capacity on routes where capacity demand continues to increase substantially each year.
The companies in a joint filing said the new cable will help to support Facebook applications and provide Amazon and its affiliates with capacity to support Amazon’s cloud services and connect its data centres.
A Facebook spokeswoman said the project parties agreed “the best path forward to complete the construction and bring the … cable system into operation was to restructure the system ownership, allowing the parties to deliver on the goal of bringing connectivity to more people and regions”.
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Amazon and China Mobile did not immediately respond to requests for comment.