Google to Build Own Trans-Pacific Cable Network?

Up to this point, it has been local telcos, mobile providers, newspaper publishers and others in the media business who have had to ponder what Google might be up to. Trans-oceanic fiber providers might be next. Google apparently is planning to lay its own multi-terabit undersea communications cable across the Pacific Ocean, to be lit in 2009, according to Communications Day.

The Unity cable has been under development for several months. As envisioned, Google will join with other carriers to build the new multi-terabit cable. Google would get access to a fiber pair at build cost.

Partners haven't been announced, but rumors indicate Telekom Malaysia and Verizon, each involved in rival new cables, won't be part of the Google consortium.

There's not necessarily any broader agenda beyond securing low cost bandwidth on a major and growing oceanic crossing. Aside from that, the new capacity helps Google peer directly with Internet Service Providers in Asia.

Google's move still could be disruptive to the capacity industry, though. Obviously, Google's new capacity will take some revenue out of the retail market place.

TeleGeography Research says existing trans-Pacific cables provide on average 3.3 tbps of capacity and that carriers have increasingly been upgrading their existing cables or planning new ones. Trans-Pacific bandwidth demand has increased 41 percent between mid-2006 and mid-2007.

Global Crossing Didn't Do It

TeleBlend's VoIP network had an outage in late July and there was some confusion about why. Perhaps it was as simple as a temporary financial issue between trading partners. Global Crossing and Level 3 Communications, as major suppliers to SunRocket, likely got stuck with significant bad debt when SunRocket went dark. So you might understand why the providers might be worried about further bad debt exposure related to an account that had just gone south.

In all likelihood there was simply a period where a single payment got a bit delayed and at least one of the underlying carriers moved to protect themselves. We understand TeleBlend had been making incremental payments to the underlying carriers, obviously to limit their risk.

That's not to say there couldn't have been issues related to the SunRocket and TeleBlend back office processes. Under the circumstances, a late payment makes the most sense.

TeleBlend Quietly Provides SunRocket Service

If you have been following the SunRocket transition story, you might not have wondered just how it was that SunRocket went dark July 16, but nearly all SunRocket customers were still able to call in and out and use voice mail until the SunRocket creditor hard stop of Aug. 5. As it turns out, TeleBlend has quietly been paying Global Crossing and Level 3 Communications, as well as some others, to maintain service to all former SunRocket customers while TeleBlend conducted its marketing activities.

And the only reason TeleBlend wanted to keep that quiet was to avoid its own customer backlash. How's that? Customers are mad at SunRocket. If they then learn they are getting service from TeleBlend, even if free, there's still the possibility of ill will when the lights finally do have to go out at SunRocket. So TeleBlend said nothing.

SunRocket to Packet8 Transition: Why it is so Easy

Most former SunRocket customers who have moved to Packet8 service have had their new service up and running within three days, says Huw Rees, 8x8 VP. So why is the Packet8 service faring better than TeleBlend, in terms of transition ease?

Serendipity, at least in part. Global Crossing and Level 3 Communications were the primary SunRocket transport providers, and Packet8 works with both of them as well. So when a former SunRocket customer wants to switch to Packet8 service, pretty much all it takes is the letter of authorization, about 24 to 48 hours to get the account re-pointed to Packet8 and away from SunRocket, and time to ship out a new analog terminal adapter.

That's not to minimize the face that 8x8 has had quite some years to get its back office and warehouse operations into place. It's just that having common transport providers in common with SunRocket has made the logistical process of "porting" accounts easier.