Alphabet’s Google is set to embark on a significant undersea cable initiative, aimed at providing internet access to eight remote Pacific Ocean nations. This joint venture between the U.S. and Australia, which is scheduled to be officially unveiled during Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s White House visit, will extend Google’s existing commercial project in the Pacific region to include Micronesia, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.
Both the U.S. and Australian governments are contributing to this endeavor, with Canberra providing $50 million and Washington adding an additional $15 million. These investments underscore the growing importance of the Pacific islands, which have been the subject of increasing attention from major global powers like China and the United States, who are keen on strengthening ties through infrastructure development and military collaborations.
President Joe Biden has emphasized the significance of U.S. dominance in telecommunications, viewing it as a crucial national security concern due to its influence over the global flow of information. As part of this project, Google is also working on a fiber-optic cable that links Taiwan, a self-governing island with claims from China, to the Philippines and the United States.
Additionally, the U.S. will collaborate with the Pacific nations on enhancing cybersecurity resilience, helping them establish secure backups for critical data on global cloud networks, according to an official involved in the project.
