Google is building a subsea cable running from the East Coast of the U.S. to Las Toninas, Argentina, which will be the longest in the world capable of running temporarily on a single power source in case of power outages.
The Firmina cable is intended to improve Google services to South American users. While it's technically challenging to build single-end, fiber-paired cables that stretch over long distances and rely on a single power source, the Google team managed the feat by increasing the cable supply voltage 20% higher than traditional methods.
The Firmina cable will be the 16th Google undersea cable investment.