FASTER (submarine cable system)

FASTER (submarine cable system)
Name	FASTER
Owners	Google, NEC, KDDI, SingTel, PCCW Global, China Telecom, China Mobile International, Global Transit
Partners	Google, NEC Corporation, KDDI Corporation, SingTel, PCCW Global, China Telecom, China Mobile International, Global Transit
Landing points	Yellowknife?
Design capacity	60 Tb/s (initial), upgradeable
Length	~11,629 km
First activated	2016

FASTER (submarine cable system) is a trans-Pacific fiber-optic submarine cable system that links Asia and North America, designed to increase capacity and reduce latency for internet traffic between Tokyo, Chiba, Hanauma Bay? and Los Angeles. Commissioned and launched in the mid-2010s, the system was developed by a consortium led by Google with partners including major telecommunications companies from Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, and China, and it entered service contemporaneously with several other submarine projects during a period of rapid expansion of global fiber infrastructure.

Overview

FASTER was announced during an era marked by initiatives from Google and global carriers to expand subsea bandwidth alongside projects like Marea and Pacific Light Cable Network. The project aimed to serve capacity demands generated by platforms such as YouTube, Netflix, Amazon Web Services, Facebook, and Tencent by providing high-capacity, low-latency connectivity between major peering hubs in California and multiple landing sites in Japan. The consortium model reflected earlier cooperative efforts led by companies like Japan Telecom, AT&T, and NTT Communications in the 2000s and 2010s.

Design and Route

FASTER utilized a trans-Pacific route connecting landing stations on the west coast of the United States—principally Oceanside, California and Los Angeles—to multiple sites in Japan (including Chiba). The route traversed international waters and exclusive economic zones near Hawaii and crossed deep-ocean trenches such as the Mariana Trench region en route. Cable design incorporated repeatered fiber pairs with submarine line terminal equipment deployed in landing stations similar to designs used on systems like SEA-ME-WE 3 and Asia-America Gateway.

Capacity and Technology

Engineered with dense wavelength-division multiplexing (DWDM) and coherent optical transmission technologies similar to those adopted by NEC Corporation, FASTER originally supported an aggregate design capacity on the order of tens of terabits per second per fiber pair, with system-level capacity cited by participants in the range of dozens of terabits. The system used modulation formats and forward error correction approaches consistent with advancements marketed to operators such as Huawei Marine, Alcatel-Lucent (Nokia) and Ciena. Optical amplifiers and repeaters were provided to counteract attenuation across spans comparable to other long-haul cables like TAT-14 and FLAG.

Construction and Deployment

FASTER construction was contracted to firms experienced in submarine cable installation and marine engineering, employing cable ships and remotely operated vehicles used in projects for companies such as SubCom and Prysmian Group. Permitting required coordination with authorities in jurisdictions including United States Department of Commerce, prefectural administrations in Chiba Prefecture, and regulatory entities in Japan. Marine surveys assessed seabed topology near features like the Pacific Plate margins. The system was physically laid and spliced following techniques established during deployments such as SEA-US and Hawaiki.

Ownership and Consortia

The consortium structure included major carriers and infrastructure investors: Google provided anchor financing and operational oversight, joined by NEC Corporation, KDDI, SingTel, PCCW Global, China Telecom, and China Mobile International. This ownership model paralleled prior consortiums like those behind SAFE and EAC-C2C, leveraging strategic partnerships to distribute cost, risk, and capacity rights across multinational stakeholders including regional incumbents such as Nippon Telegraph and Telephone affiliates.

Operational History and Performance

FASTER went into commercial service in 2016 amid contemporaneous launches of the Marea and APG systems. Operators reported reductions in trans-Pacific latency comparable to improvements observed after earlier upgrades to Trans-Pacific Express and Japan-US Cable Network links. Performance monitoring by stakeholders cited throughput gains beneficial to cloud providers like Google Cloud Platform and content delivery networks including Akamai Technologies. Maintenance interventions have followed industry norms involving scheduled inspections and repairs comparable to historical operations for FLAG Atlantic-1 and other long-haul cables.

Impact and Significance

FASTER contributed to the mid-2010s expansion of intercontinental bandwidth that supported the growth of streaming platforms such as Netflix and Hulu, cloud services by Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure, and the global operations of technology firms like Alibaba Group and Baidu. By enhancing capacity and resilience on the trans-Pacific corridor, the system influenced peering arrangements among internet exchange points like LINX and JPNAP and informed subsequent investments by carriers including China Unicom and Verizon Communications. The project exemplified collaboration between hyperscale technology companies and traditional carriers to meet escalating international data transport demands.

Category:Submarine communications cables in the Pacific Ocean Category:2016 establishments