News

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.

Published

5 years ago

September 17, 2021

Joanna Melki

google's 3900 mile grace hopper undersea cable lands in the uk

Google Cloud

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).

Google

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.

Also Read: Carrefour City+ In Mall Of The Emirates Becomes Dubai’s First Contactless Store

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.

News

Syria Just Got Its First Super App Featuring Built-In Digital Payments

Built by UAE-based Syrian founders with the Ministry of Tourism’s backing, My Syria lands as visitor numbers more than double.

Published

5 days ago

August 1, 2026

Nour Nasir

syria just got its first super app featuring built-in digital payments

For most of the past decade, paying for anything in Syria with an international card was effectively impossible. Sanctions, a collapsed banking sector, and years of isolation left the country running on cash. That is what makes the launch of My Syria — the country’s first super app — more than a routine product announcement.

Developed by 121 Living, a company founded by four UAE-based Syrian entrepreneurs — Rami Kaiem, Feras Kaiem, Waseem Qudmani, and Kinan Madi — the app launched in Damascus on July 30 under the patronage of Minister of Tourism Mazen Al-Salhani. It bundles hotels, restaurants, transport, attractions, food delivery, and other lifestyle services into a single platform, currently offering eight services with plans to expand to more than 40 verified tourism and hospitality providers across the country.

Although the app already sounds enticing, the headline feature is its built-in payments. My Syria is the first platform in Syria to support cross-border digital payments through Apple Pay, Google Pay, Visa, Mastercard, and American Express — familiar tools for international visitors, and a route into the digital economy for local businesses that have long operated outside it.

my syria super app launch event

The launch rides on a sharp rebound for the troubled country. Syria’s tourism sector recorded 3.52 million visitor arrivals in the first half of 2026, a 111 percent increase over the 1.67 million during the same period in 2025 — a mix of returning expatriates, regional visitors, and international tourists.

Also Read: This UAE Platform Wants To Replace Fashion Photo Shoots With AI

The Ministry of Tourism, which supported and supervised the app’s development, frames the launch as proof of concept for a wider strategy. “Digital transformation is one of the Ministry’s strategic priorities because it enables us to build a more competitive, connected and investment-ready tourism sector,” Al-Salhani said, inviting technology companies “globally, regionally and locally” to explore opportunities across the wider economy.

For 121 Living, this is phase one, with additional services and expanded geographic coverage planned. Whether a super app can flourish in a market still rebuilding its infrastructure is an open question, but for the first time in years, a visitor to Damascus can pay for dinner with their phone.