Google says it will construct a new undersea cable from Portugal to South Africa, which promises to bring superfast internet to local shores.
Business Insider SA reports that the new cable will use state-of-the-art infrastructure based on space-division multiplexing technology, which transmits information along parallel channels.
Google said in a statement this would deliver approximately 20 times more network capacity than the existing cable to South Africa.
“(It) will be the first subsea cable to incorporate optical switching at the fibre-pair level, rather than the traditional approach of wavelength-level switching.”
The new cable, which will be fully funded by Google, is expected to be operational in South Africa by 2021.
