Orange partners with Google on submarine cable

Orange has come on board as a partner for Google’s submarine cable project, Dunant, which is due to link the US with the French Atlantic coast when it goes live in late 2020.

As the French landing partner, Orange said it will build and operate the landing station on the French Atlantic coast and provide the backhaul service to Paris.

The move his will enable Orange to boost its capacity to meet the large growth in data and content demands between Europe and the US.

“I am extremely proud to announce this collaboration with Google to build a new, cutting-edge cable between the USA and France,” said Stéphane Richard, chairman and CEO of Orange.

“The role of submarine cables is often overlooked, despite their central role at the heart of our digital world. I am proud that Orange continues to be a global leader in investing, deploying, maintaining and managing such key infrastructure. Google is a major partner for Orange and this project reflects the spirit of our relationship.”

Google announced project Dunant in July, claiming that the private cable will add network capacity across the Atlantic, supplementing one of the busiest routes on the internet and supporting the growth of Google Cloud.

The cable will link Virginia Beach in the US with the French Atlantic coast and Google is working with TE SubCom to design, manufacture and lay the cable.