Google in $102m Aussie-US deal to run internet cables to Pacific islands
Washington | Alphabet’s Google will run undersea cables powering internet access to at least eight Pacific island nations under a joint US-Australian deal set to be announced on Wednesday (Thursday AEDT), according to a US official.
The deal will expand an existing commercial project by Google in the region to the nations of Micronesia, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
Set to be announced during an official White House visit by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, the previously unreported deal involves contributions from both governments.
Canberra will contribute $US50 million ($78.9 million) and Washington is adding another $US15 million, according to a senior administration official.
The tiny and sometimes isolated nations of the Pacific have become an area of intense focus in recent years, as China and the United States court them with infrastructure development and military partnerships.
President Joe Biden has also pushed for US dominance in telecommunications services, seeing the industry as a key national security issue given the control it affords over information flows worldwide.
Google is working on a fibre-optic cable that links Taiwan, the self-ruled island claimed by China, with the Philippines and the United States.
As part of the Pacific islands project, the United States will work with the countries on cybersecurity resilience, helping them back up key information to global cloud networks, according to the official.
Reuters
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