In May 2015, Microsoft announced a series of strategic agreements to strengthen its global network infrastructure with new submarine fiber optic cables . This initiative is part of a broader investment program aimed at directly and more efficiently connecting the company’s globally distributed data centers.
According to ZDNet and confirmed by industry sources, Microsoft has signed agreements with infrastructure providers Hibernia and Aqua Comms to build two separate links. The first concerns a transatlantic cable that will connect North America with Europe, connecting Halifax, Canada, to Ballinspittle, Ireland, and Brean, UK. This backbone will enable faster and more reliable data transmission between key Western regions.
The second project, which spans the Pacific Ocean , represents a key link between North America and Asia. For this stretch, Microsoft has partnered with several Asian operators, including China Mobile, China Telecom, China Unicom, Chunghwa Telecom, and KT Corporation. The cable will connect Hillsboro, Oregon, with China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, creating a new transpacific fiber optic network.
As part of this agreement, Microsoft will establish its own physical cable landing site in the United States for the first time, strengthening its direct control over the network infrastructure. The stated goal is to support the expansion of the company’s cloud services, particularly platforms like Azure and Office 365, by improving performance and reducing latency in data access globally.
The investment also has competitive value. In the same years, other large technology groups such as Google and Facebook had already launched similar projects for the laying of submarine cables, especially in Asia, with the aim of reducing cloud operating costs and increasing connection reliability.
In a post on the company blog, David Crowley, Microsoft’s then head of Network Launch , stressed how these investments are designed to offer cloud services characterised by high availability, security and business continuity.
According to Crowley, competition in the industry is not just about infrastructure or cloud computing per se, but the overall ability to innovate and deliver value to customers across a network that extends “from sea to space.”
Follow us on Google News to receive daily updates on cybersecurity. Contact us if you would like to report news, insights or content for publication.
