Google is joining a consortium to deploy the first subsea cable between South America and Asia Pacific.

“Today, we’re joining Desarrollo País of Chile and Office of Posts and Telecommunications of French Polynesia (OPT) to announce Humboldt, a subsea cable route linking Chile, French Polynesia, and Australia — the first ever to directly connect South America and Asia-Pacific. When operational, Humboldt will strengthen the reliability and resilience of digital connectivity across the Pacific by interconnecting the cables that comprise the South Pacific Connect initiative and adding geographically diverse cable investments that link French Polynesia and Chile”, the company stated.

The establishment of a direct fiber optic network link between South America and the Asia-Pacific region has been a key objective of the Chilean government since 2016. Google’s collaboration with the consortium is instrumental in transforming this vision into reality.

In his comments, the Transportation and Telecommunications Minister of Chile, Juan Carlos Muñoz, said “Chile is a country that is at the forefront of technology and is a leader in the implementation of the latest generation networks. As a Government, we are working day by day to consolidate this position and create the conditions for new investments of this kind to continue to arrive. The interest of companies like Google shows that Chile is doing things right. The country is leveraging its potential to generate the growth that will help us improve the well-being and quality of life of the people. These are projects that create employment and later, when they become a reality, improve the working conditions of thousands of people, in addition to placing Chile as a leader in the region and strengthening its position as the gateway from South America to the digital world.”

In her comments, the Minister for Communications of Australia, Hon Michelle Rowland MP, stated “Australia welcomes this new trans-Pacific cable connecting Australia and Latin America for the first time, supporting the growth of digital and economic ties. This new cable route will enhance Australia’s global connectivity and complement our work with Pacific countries to secure better access to the global digital economy.”

President Moetai Brotherson of French Polynesia said: “Economic vitality in my country relies on investments in the digital sector. We are thrilled to collaborate on the Humboldt project to continue advancing French Polynesia’s digital economy and keep Tahiti on the cutting edge of innovation.”

According to Google, the Humboldt project is a key part of its commitment to Chile, and complements its existing infrastructure investments, such as the Google data center in Quilicura, the Google Cloud region in Santiago, the cross-Andes terrestrial connectivity between Chile and Argentina, and the Curie subsea cable.

Humboldt is expected to play a crucial role in boosting economic growth by enhancing international connectivity, resulting in increased GDP and job opportunities.  According to Analysys Mason, Google’s past submarine cable projects in Latin America and the Caribbean are projected to contribute to a cumulative GDP increase of 178 billion USD and the creation of approximately 740,000 additional jobs by 2027.