Facebook, Google investing in 2 new undersea internet cables between US and Southeast Asia

Facebook and Google are investing in new undersea internet cables that will run between California and Southeast Asia in an effort to boost internet speed and reliability, the companies announced Monday. 

Facebook said it will invest in two new subsea cables, Echo and Bifrost, and Google said it will be investing in Echo. The projects are subject to regulatory approvals.

Echo and Bifrost will connect Singapore, Indonesia and North America. 

The two companies touted the projects as helping to bring reliable internet access around the world. 

“Echo and Bifrost will support further growth for hundreds of millions of people and millions of businesses. We know that economies flourish when there is widely accessible internet for people and businesses,” Facebook said in a blog post. 

Google in a post said the cable will decrease latency for users connecting to applications running the Google Cloud Platform in the area. 

Echo is expected to be ready for service in 2023, Google said. The goal is for Bifrost to be completed by late 2024, CNBC reported.