Are we gonna get the Google Moon Cable anytime soon? :-D
Is that a real idea? Can’t Google right now unfortunately!
Google's Subsea Fiber Optics
51–60 of 103 posts
Re: Google's Subsea Fiber Optics
#52Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've heard that high frequency traders are interested in Starlink's planned laser links because they could open up routes that are faster than traditional terrestrial fiber.
I think that if you are a HFT, you probably have a server set up next door.
The suggestion is about trading across multiple exchanges, for example between London and NY. Going via Starlink is potentially quicker than a fiber under the Atlantic.
They will have servers “next door” to the exchanges, but need the servers to have incredible low latency connections to each other.
Re: Google's Subsea Fiber Optics
#53Earlier quoted context omitted.
'c' is dependent on the medium. The value of c as it is commonly known, 300 million meters per second, is in vacuum. Light traveling through other media is affected by its index of refraction, in the case of silica fiber, that is approximately 1.5 so radiation propagates much slower through silica than it does a vacuum. Since gases have low refractive indicies already, within a hundred ppm or so of a vacuum, you coul…
I've heard that high frequency traders are interested in Starlink's planned laser links because they could open up routes that are faster than traditional terrestrial fiber.
Yeah, that would make sense. There are links that have been built by various HFT firms and banks [0] [1] that use microwaves instead of fiber buried in the ground simply because of this speed-of-light-in-media limitation. They can shave a few hundred nanoseconds (or something, I don't want to do the math right now) because of a higher signal propagation speed and get a trade in faster than their competitors. Same thing with a laser link like this.
Edit: cf.
[0] https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2016/11/priva... [1] https://www.reuters.com/article/us-highfrequency-microwave/l...
Re: Google's Subsea Fiber Optics
#54Re: Google's Subsea Fiber Optics
#55Earlier quoted context omitted.
'c' is dependent on the medium. The value of c as it is commonly known, 300 million meters per second, is in vacuum. Light traveling through other media is affected by its index of refraction, in the case of silica fiber, that is approximately 1.5 so radiation propagates much slower through silica than it does a vacuum. Since gases have low refractive indicies already, within a hundred ppm or so of a vacuum, you coul…
I've heard that high frequency traders are interested in Starlink's planned laser links because they could open up routes that are faster than traditional terrestrial fiber.
I know the main people behind much of the hollow core work being done. Much of their financing is coming from HFT related firms.
Re: Google's Subsea Fiber Optics
#56When they say a single cable can deliver 340 Tbps capacity, do they mean a single fiber strand, or a bundle of strands in a sheath that we know as "cables"?
Generally the throughput for a single mode fibre in the C + L Bands (the wavelength regions used for telecom applications), is about 100 Tbit/s for a one span link (50-100km) for a submarine cable across transatlantic distances IIRC the record is around 50-70 Tbit/s. This is research demonstrations, so the 340 Tbit/s would be for a cable with plenty redundancy. Also note that fibres are used in one direction only (one of the main reasons is that one would otherwise create a very long laser), so for duplex operation you need to double the amount of fibres.
Re: Google's Subsea Fiber Optics
#57For those more interested in this topic TE Subcom (now just Subcom) has some cool videos about the process of deploying and repairing these submarine cables. Just search for te subcom on YouTube.
Re: Google's Subsea Fiber Optics
#58Unrelated, but if interested in ocean cables check out “A Thread Across the Ocean” by Steele. It’s the story of the first transatlantic cable. It’s a riveting read that is hard to put down. Full of interesting technical details intertwined with the stories of the characters involved. Highly recommended!
Also The Victorian Internet by Standage on the history of the telegraph:
Re: Google's Subsea Fiber Optics
#59The internet includes many components: semiconductors/electronics/chips, hardware, fiber optics, communication systems, networking, wireless, software, etc. There is a lot of work that must be done in different parts of this stack for this system to work.
Yet, the private sector focuses mostly on the software part, or services. I have rarely seen a start up on improving optical fiber or electronic chips. The public sector builds the infrastructure, often following decades of investment and work. People working on infrastructure either work for the government for pennies or, if they haven’t yet lost their jobs to outsourcing to developing countries, have difficulty finding employment. The profit goes to consumer companies focused on software or services; worse, these companies claim credit for the whole Internet.
Obviously CapEx will be large for a company with a product on infrastructure; there are monopolies; customers will be large operators, etc. Still, are there resources to better understand this issue? It always seemed to me a scam.
Also, will the situation change for “hardware”startups/companies?
Re: Google's Subsea Fiber Optics
#60I don't understand why or how the people in the video are so glowingly happy/smiling. Is some point being made there?
> Is some point being made there?
Yes! That everything is fine, everyone is happy and if you're not happy, then the only sane conclusion is that there's something wrong with you.