According to a report from Australian trade news service Communications Day, Google may join a coalition of companies in a project named "Unity," which would run a multi-terabit undersea communications cable across the Pacific sometime in 2009. Owning a dedicated portion of the cable would give the search giant a significant cost advantage for trans-Pacific data transmission over rival Internet companies.
Speaking to a Communications Day correspondent, Google did not confirm nor deny the existence of the Unity plan:
"Additional infrastructure for the Internet is good for users and there are a number of proposals to add a Pacific submarine cable. We're not commenting on any of these plans."
Google's infrastructure ambitions are no secret. The company has openly expressed its interest to bid in the upcoming 700MHz spectrum action in the United States and has been critical of Verizon's intention to keep the wireless market closed. Building a new trans-Pacific link would once again put Google in competition with Verizon, which has partnered with a group of Asian carriers to run a new fiber across the Pacific.