• The Federal Communications Commission granted a clearance to Alphabet’s Google for temporary use of the US-Asia subsea telecommunications cable.
• The request comes ahead of massive traffic demand across the Asian region amidst COVID-19 pandemic.

In a recent news, the demand for network connectivity and high data traffic amidst coronavirus outbreak, has urged Google to seek approval of FCC for the temporary use of an undersea telecommunications cable connecting US and Asia. Apparently, considering the present scenario, FCC has granted clearance for the same.

Google, an Alphabet Inc. unit, has settled to operate a portion of 8,000 mile telecommunications cable, regarded as Pacific Light Cable Network System running from the United States to Taiwan for the next six months. It has been reported that Google and Facebook have combinedly raised finances for the construction of this telecommunication link which is somehow blocked for use by the U.S regulators.

According to official sources, the clearance request was filed on 2^nd April of this year and has a lot of capacity to address the higher demand for products including YouTube as users stay home in covid-19 quarantines.

As per credible reports, Hong Kong would be barred from this connectivity as the U.S agencies believe that the grant of a direct cable connection between Hong Kong and U.S would severely jeopardize the national security and law enforcement interests of the nation. It is prudent to mention that the ties between the U.S and China soured over the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic leading to a decision like this.

In an exclusive statement put forth by a Google official, the company is grateful to FCC for giving a nod on its request of use of undersea telecommunications cable. The company adds that the dedicated global network deployment and operations team is constantly revamping the capacity to suffice the growing needs of users via the subsea cable system.

Source credit:  https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-trade-china-telecommunications/u-s-approves-google-request-to-use-segment-of-u-s-asia-undersea-cable-idINKCN21R07B