Microsoft-Facebook Undersea Cable Is Finished, 160Tbps Connection Capability

The Marea Atlantic undersea cable, that is the joint effort between tech giants Microsoft and Facebook, has been completed. 4,000 miles in length and placed 17,000 feet beneath the ocean’s surface, the cable is capable of delivering up to 160 Terabytes of data per second. This is basically 16 million times faster than an average home internet connection.

The new cable is more than just a matter of Microsoft and Facebook showing off their internet connection capacity as well. As Popular Mechanics recently reported, internet usage is expected to increase eight times by 2025. A submarine connection capable of delivering 160Tbps of data will likely help meet those demands.

What makes the Marea capable special is the fact that it is interoperable. This basically means that engineers can make changes to the line without too much trouble, which would make it suitable for additional power or efficiency in the coming years.

On top of that, the line will also be more resistant to the kinds of damages caused by Hurricane Sandy in 2012, which included major internet blackouts. As such, users can likely expect fewer interruptions or slowdowns with their connection during storms, if the cable does what it is supposed to do.

It’s worth pointing out, however, that neither Facebook nor Microsoft will be handling the actual management of the cable. This job falls on the Spanish telco Telxius, Mashable reports, which will be doing the selling of capacity to carriers and ISPs.

The US tech firms will simply be using the cables for their own purposes, likely to deliver faster data transfers involving their own services. This was what sparked the start of the project, in the first place. Executives from both industry giants came together and realized that another major internet outage, even one that lasts for a few days could be a major disruption to their businesses.