Internet Backbone Bandwidth Boom Driven By Content Provider Networks

Global Submarine Cable Map - Source: Greg's Cable Map (GPLv3)

"Cables lying on the seafloor bring the internet to the world. They transmit 99 percent of international data, make transoceanic communication possible in an instant, and serve as a loose proxy for the international trade that connects advanced economies." -Vox

"...The United States is by far the most connected country in the world, with submarine cable landing points on both coasts that connect it to most other continents..." (source: Oxford Internet Institute)

At left: thumbnail from Telegeography.com's Global Internet Map 2012 shows major US internet backbone hub gateways--New York City, Washington, D.C., Miami, Los Angeles, San Francisco metros--as well as the number one hub in the world in capacity in 2011: London (UK). Over 11 Tbps of international Internet capacity connected to London in 2011.

New data from TeleGeography and its Global Bandwidth Research Service indicates international bandwidth grew 44 percent in 2014, to reach 211 Tbps. The 65 Tbps of new capacity deployed in 2014 equals nearly the entire amount of bandwidth in service globally in 2011. This rapid capacity growth is driven by a changing mix of global network operators--private networks, particularly those of large content providers like Google, Facebook, and Microsoft, account for a growing share of international bandwidth, even surpassing public Internet bandwidth on the trans-Atlantic route last year. As a result, network operation is now a core part of the business for some of the largest content providers. Opportunities still exist for traditional network operators as not all wholesale customers can achieve the large scale of content companies, leaving substantial demand for purchases of increments of capacity.

Web Companies Driving Construction Boom at Internet’s Core - WSJ: "... Google has been an aggressive builder of network pipes. The company helped build a trans-Pacific submarine cable finished in 2010 and is in the process of funding another one. The company also took a one-third stake in another fiber optic cable that will link the U.S. to Brazil... A Google spokeswoman said the network investments allow the company to provide users with better, faster services. Facebook and Microsoft are also investing heavily in the building blocks of a private global network. The pair helped secure funding for a new cable called AEConnect between Ireland and the U.S., according to a person familiar with the matter..." 

Google Peering & Content Delivery: "... How does Google deliver traffic to users? In the core: We invest and build our global backbone network to connect our data centers and transport traffic to Internet aggregation points. We carry traffic as far as possible on our own network. At the edge: We peer directly with access network operators and ISPs. Google treats all operators equally with an open, settlement-free peering policy. Beyond the edge: We deploy the Google Global Cache platform in access providers' networks to deliver content even closer to users, and reduce transport costs for operators..."

China Approves New Crossing-Pacific Cable Project: "A new multinational crossing-Pacific submarine cable project which directly connects China and the US has been approved by China's National Development and Reform Commission. China's three telecommunication giants, China Telecom, China Unicom and China Mobile, together with companies from several other countries and regions, will jointly contribute to the funding and construction. The project is designed with a total length of around 14-thousand kilometers and a total capacity of 60 Tb/s...." (May 2, 2015)

Other references:

• Content delivery network (Wikipedia)
• AWS | Amazon CloudFront CDN - Content Delivery Network & Streaming
• Azure CDN - Content delivery network | Microsoft Azure
• Facebook & Akamai respond to NSA slides alleging massive CDN vulnerability | VentureBeat
• What the Internet looks like: Undersea cables wiring ends of the Earth - CNN.com
• Greg's Cable Map: cablemap.info
• Submarine Telecoms Forum
• Submarine Cable Networks
• Internet Tube: Oxford Internet Institute
• History of the Atlantic Cable & Submarine Telegraphy

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Google to FCC: Open 3.5 GHz Spectrum for Cheap Internet Bandwidth

The Wall Street Journal has reported that "... [Google] is lobbying U.S. regulators to free up vast amounts of low-cost, mostly vacant spectrum that could serve as an alternative to the big carriers’ services. The plan that Google and others are backing would open up as much as 150 megahertz of spectrum around the 3.5 gigahertz band, pushing to make it usable by all comers without a license while still leaving some of it available for companies to use exclusively. The 3.5 gigahertz airwaves aren’t much use to wireless carriers, because they aren’t good at carrying signals for long distances. But they are useful for delivering heavy loads of data in cities, which could make them viable for a lot of typical wireless needs—the way Wi-Fi is now, but potentially broader and more available. The spectrum would enable startups funded by venture capitalists, for instance, to build speedy wireless networks in parks, buildings or public areas relatively inexpensively, thus making it cheaper for consumers to access the Internet ..."

Google FCC Wavelength Bid Airwaves - Business Insider: "... In a filing with the FCC, [Google] executives said they were "helping to make Internet bandwidth more abundant ... The broadband ecosystem will be well-served by a policy environment that removes barriers to investment, discourages monetization of scarcity, and empowers consumers."... an ongoing auction for a portion of the spectrum bids are approaching $45 billion.

In recent years, Google has been moving increasingly beyond its purely online roots and into the network sphere. The search giant has been slowly rolling out its ultra-fast broadband connection Google Fiber in various US cities since its launch in 2011, challenging established internet providers like Comcast and AT&T.

Google is also experimenting with Project Loon — an attempt to bring the internet to developing countries, rural areas, and disaster zones using high-altitude balloons."

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