Google's submarine cable "Grace Hopper" has reached Sopela with the aim of improving speed and security on the Internet. Through this 7,000 kilometer communications cable, the technology multinational will join the two shores of the Atlantic Ocean in three points: USA, Sopela and Cornwall (UK) and Europe.
The work carried out these days at Arrietara Beach has carried out the cable "landing". Google Cloud representative María Álvarez explained that "it will have a capacity of 340 terabytes per second; that is, it has the ability to transfer more than 4,000 videos to 17.5 people at the same time". Google's spokesman has also stressed that this infrastructure will mean "less latency, faster traffic and greater security over time." According to the forecasts of the multinational, the new facility will be in operation at the beginning of next year.
The cable is named after Grace Brewster Murray Hopper (1906-1992), a computer pioneer, better known for having developed the first compiler (stacker) for a programming language, a language that is still used.
Sopela, telecommunications port
Similar infrastructures have already been installed in Sopela. The first one occurred in 2017, when Microsoft and Facebook introduced the fiber optic cable into the network. At that time, cable placement began in Sopela, where a 6,600 kilometer cable arrived in Virginia Beach, United States.
The Sopela beach has also been chosen on this occasion, as the telecommunications network that already existed facilitates and greatly reduces the works. The companies that build these infrastructures chose the coast of Uribe Kosta in 2001 because of its geographical location and the high number of technological companies that support them.
Arantxa Tapia, Councillor for Economic Development, Sustainability and the Environment of the Basque Government, explained that "our multi-localized companies work in a network and a company located in the Basque Country connects with another company located in China or the United States. This can't be done without those infrastructures." On the other hand, he highlighted the "commitment" of the Basque Government and the Provincial Government of Bizkaia for "connectivity".
They have announced that the Grace Hopper cable "will be the first in a series", as the Basque Government intends to create a "Teleportu" in Sopela to connect the new submarine cables and connect those connecting in other parts of the peninsula.
