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Google’s 3,900-Mile Grace Hopper Undersea Cable Lands In The UK
Undersea cables are the backbone of the internet, carrying around 98% of international traffic.
Google has a good reason to celebrate this week because the tech giant has successfully completed its 3,900-mile undersea cable. The cable is named Grace Hopper, after the American computer scientist who was one of the first programmers of the Harvard Mark I computer, and it connects New York (United States) to Bude (United Kingdom) and Bilbao (Spain).
The Spanish branch was completed earlier in September as the first-ever Google-funded route to Spain. Now that the UK branch has landed as well, the mission, which was first announced last July, has reached its end.
“Grace Hopper represents a new generation of the trans-Atlantic cable coming to the UK shores and is one of the first new cables to connect the US and the UK since 2003,” says Google in the official announcement. “Grace Hopper will connect the UK to help meet the rapidly growing demand for high-bandwidth connectivity and services”.
The cable uses a cutting-edge multi-directional fiber switching architecture that lets Google better move traffic around outages and provide the reliability necessary to power critical Google services like Meet, Gmail, and Google Cloud.
The multi-directional fiber switching architecture will also help tightly integrate the upcoming Google Cloud region in Madrid into Google’s global infrastructure. The new region will leverage Telefonica’s Madrid region infrastructure to foster Spain’s digital transformation and advance 5G mobile edge computing.
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Undersea cables like Grace Hopper are the backbone of the internet, carrying around 98% of international traffic. The first optical telecommunications cables were laid on the ocean floor back in the 1980s, and their number has since then grown to more than 400. The actual optical fibers that carry data between continents are only as thick as a single strand of human hair, but they’re protected by several layers of shielding and isolation.
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Google To Launch AI Hub In Saudi Arabia, Aiming For $71B GDP Boost
The tech giant also plans to develop local AI solutions, and train regional talent to foster innovation and entrepreneurship.
Google has announced plans to set up a cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) hub in Saudi Arabia, a move aimed at accelerating technological growth and economic development across the wider gulf region. The ambitious project aligns with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, an initiative that champions technology and innovation as central to economic diversification away from the oil industry.
According to Google, the hub has the potential to contribute as much as $71 billion to Saudi Arabia’s economy. The initiative will likely speed up the adoption of AI across industries such as healthcare, retail, and financial services — not only within Saudi Arabia but also throughout the wider MENA region and beyond.
Yasir Al Rumayyan, Governor of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), highlighted the importance of the project for the Kingdom: “This partnership demonstrates PIF’s dedication to fostering an AI-friendly environment through investments in human capital and technology, upskilling thousands with cutting-edge tools to support our sustainable and innovative infrastructure goals,” he explained. Al Rumayyan also emphasized that Saudi Arabia’s combination of sector knowledge and long-term investment strategies makes it an ideal environment for global technology partnerships.
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A central aim of Google’s initiative is nurturing local talent. The AI hub will offer a range of training, research, and collaboration opportunities for developers, researchers, and entrepreneurs within Saudi Arabia. Google envisions training “millions” of people, helping to create a robust innovation ecosystem that supports entrepreneurship and ensures economic benefits reach all segments of society.
As international technology giants increasingly look to develop solutions tailored to regional needs, Google’s initiative reflects a progressive approach that leverages the strengths of local markets. With the potential to inject billions into the economy and strengthen digital capacities, Saudi Arabia could soon emerge as a prominent center for AI innovation in the Middle East.
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