Category: Technology

The new iPhone XS and XR have finally dropped and with them, an abundance of security features. Thanks to the latest iOS update, iOS 12, your phone is safer than ever. In addition to the new OLED displays, aerospace-grade aluminum bands, and the professional “portrait mode” camera feature, there are great, new ways to protect your information. Smartphone security features have always been a point of pride by Apple, and with their latest innovations, they have clearly been a priority. Here are some of the latest updates you can expect to find on your iPhone.

Limits On Ad Tracking

If you’ve ever wondered why a website displays banner ads for a new toaster, car, or clothing items every time you’ve been searching the internet for a new toaster, car, or piece of clothing, then you’ve witnessed targeting ads. It is easy for a website to find out a bit of information on you every time you log on. Luckily, Safari on iOS has been blocking third-party cookies for some time. However, the new iPhones have an additional feature; now Safari can block social media sharing icons and comment boxes that automatically identify you and plug in your information. The new iPhones are also putting up a bigger fight against Facebook. Before, if you were logged into your Facebook account in your browser, any site could track who you are if they used a Facebook Share button, even if you decided not to share the page. Now, the browser is able to recognize when a website is tracking you and you can choose to block the tracker or not. This traffic-restricting tech will also be available on the new macOS.

Video Chat Will Be Safer

iPhone uses encryption for your privacy in everything from your texts to your pictures. Data cannot be read without a facial scan, fingerprint, or passcode. Now, FaceTime chats can’t be spied on either. All chats and videos sent between iPhones can’t be stopped and spied on by hackers, in fact, Apple can’t even gain access to them. Even now that Apple has updated FaceTime to include group chats for up to 31 people at once, encryption will be still be activated.

Stronger Password Protection

Safari already uses a tool where it suggests strong passwords and will keep them safe in a storage system. Apple claims that this tool will be stronger than ever in iOS 12. Your Safari browser will also recognize when you use the same password and login information for multiple accounts and advise that you change one. And you won’t have to worry about juggling all of these different passwords since iCloud will keep them all safe and linked between all of your devices.

Emergency Location Sharing

If you find yourself in an emergency where you need to dial 911, your iPhone will automatically share your location with the emergency operator. This is an extremely important feature that could save lives when timing is everything, or it can’t be vocalized for some reason. This is also important for people who find themselves in emergency situations while in unfamiliar places.

Better Hacking Security

The new iPhone is prepared for hacking criminals and law enforcement agents trying to hack into your information. Previously, if your phone was not unlocked for seven days the security would block attempts at entry. Now if your phone is not unlocked for one hour it will be prepared to block attempts at data retrieval from persons trying to crack your codes.

Two-Factor Authentication

Two-factor authentication is commonplace for many secure websites such as those that deal with your money. A two-factor authentication means that you would need a code from your phone in addition to your username and password for entry into the site. This is a great inconvenience to a hacker, but it could also be annoying for you if you just want a faster entry into your information. This next great security update uses AutoFill to automatically fill-in your passcode on sites that you visit frequently. So not only are you doubly protected, but you also don’t need to add in double the information.

What makes a data center amazing? It could be size or whether the data center has an environmentally friendly, green design. Aesthetics like beauty, uniqueness, or coolness could make it amazing.  Amazing is in the mind of the beholder. However, this article will begin with size.

World’s Largest Data Centers

On August 30, 2017, Hannah Williams reported on the 10 largest data centers by square footage in COMPUTERWORLDUK. The following table lists the centers and their sizes.

The Citadel

The global technology company Switch owns the Citadel. The Citadel’s connection time to Los Angeles is 9 msecs via the Switch Superloop. Then, from LA to the Core Campus takes an additional 7 msecs via fiber link. The Campus, including all data centers, has a design capacity of 650 megawatts of power. It also delivers 100% renewable energy, making it the largest and greenest data center in the world.

Kolos

Kolos is located north of the Arctic Circle. It will have computing power capacity of 1,000 megawatts, which will get electricity from Norway’s abundant hydropower capability. The project represents a significant milestone in hyperscale cloud infrastructure, offering unprecedented computational resources in an environmentally strategic location. It will have a unique hyperscale data center designed with sustainability and security in mind. The site will open in the fourth quarter of 2018, will full completion by 2027.

Range International Information Group

Public and private funds financed this data center that services the IT sectors of private enterprises and the Chinese government. Construction began in 2013 and finished in 2016. IBM provided design services, technology, business applications, training, and support as needed.

Switch SuperNAP

The Switch SuperNAP site delivers data to Reno in 7 msecs, which allows 50 million people to access data within 14 msecs. This site has planned expansions in 2020 and 2025.

DuPont Fabros Technology

DuPont Fabros Technology consists of 7 buildings in Ashburn, Virginia that operate as a data center campus. The size of the campus is 160 acres. Each of the data center elements accommodates 10,500 servers. The campus total critical load is 208 megawatts operating with a medium voltage distribution system. It also uses isolated parallel power supply topology. During the latter part of 2017, Digital Realty acquired DuPont Fabros Technology, which ceased operations on September 14, 2017.

Utah

This site is a data center for the National Security Agency (NSA). It has a power capacity of 65 megawatts at an annual cost of $40 million. Its Tier 3 data center occupies 100,000 sq ft, administration and technical support, 900,000 sq ft, and the total campus, 1.5 million sq ft. Utah uses 1.7 million gallons of water per day, and its near-term data storage is between 3 and 12 exabytes. (An exabyte equals 1018 bytes.).

Microsoft

The facility occupies 200 acres at a projected cost of $2 billion. This is Microsoft’s largest data center. It will employ 133 persons. The data center is situated in 3 West Des Moines, Iowa locations to reduce the risk from natural disasters like tornadoes.

Lakeside Technology Center

Digital Realty Trust owns Lakeside Technology Center. It used by IBM, CenturyLink, and Facebook, among others. The data center has three electric power feeds to provide 100 megawatts of power, and there are 53 power backup generators. It uses 8.5 million gallons of cooling water per year. Its infrastructure space has four fiber vaults.

Tulip Data Center

Tulip is India’s largest data center. Tulip Telecom owns the site, and IBM assisted with the design of power, cooling, rack layout, and technology. There are 12,000 server racks back up by 100 megawatts of power. Tulip meets Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) gold standards and is an Uptime Institute Tier IV facility.

QTS Atlanta-Metro

Quality Technology Services (QTS) owns and operates this data center, which has an on-site Georgia Power substation and fiber access to several carriers. QTS offers its clients flexible solutions, secure facilities, real-time visibility, and expert support. The ATS Atlanta-Metro site features ample office space with suites, cages, and rack cabinets, along with dedicated servers, virtual servers, and remote hands.

Greenest Data Centers

The Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector accounts for 2% of global carbon emissions including 0.3% from data centers. US data centers consume 1.5% of the country’s electricity. Therefore, many data centers feature designs to maximize energy efficiency and minimize environmental impact. A list of five of the greenest data centers in the world follows.

• Green Mountain Data Center – There are two Green Mountain Data Centers in Norway; one in Stavanger and the other in Telemark. Both have achieved ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and Uptime Institute Tier 3 certifications. Stavanger is located deep inside a mountain at a former NATO site, and Telemark is near multiple hydropower plants. The data center serves finance, IT, government, health, O&G (a heavy civil construction firm), and others.

• Verne Global Keflavik Facility – This carrier neutral, colocation data center is in Keflavik, Iceland. The site uses 100% carbon neutral power and natural cooling. Verne Global offers scalable solutions to address power requirements. Their clients include BMW, VW, DeepL, and the Earlham Institute.

• HP’s Wynyard, England Data Center – This site was a conversion of an existing 30,000 sq ft warehouse. A design goal was to increase energy efficiency without sacrificing quality and reliability. This data center has a pressure free cooling system with minimum use of chillers. This required wider operating conditions for the IT equipment. Air plenums, to permit large volumes of low-velocity air to cool the equipment, sit below the data halls. The cooling fans use less than 5% of the total facility load.

• General Electric’s Louisville Facility – The GE data center, built in 2011, has a LEED Platinum certification. The data center is 34% more efficient than similar facilities. High-density servers reduced space by 50%, and ultra-low-flow fixtures reduced water consumption by 42%.

• Apple’s Maiden, NC & Prineville, OR Facilities – Apple’s data center in Maiden, NC is a 500,000 sq ft facility. It uses 100% renewable energy from its 300-acre site containing three solar farms and a 10-megawatt fuel cell installation. In April 2017, Apple disclosed a deal to buy 200 megawatts of power for its Prineville, OR data center from the Montague Wind Power Project in Gilliam County. It also purchases power from a 56-megawatt project called Solar Star Oregon II and it generates hydroelectric power from a project on the Deschutes River. In addition, Apple uses treated water from the Prineville sewage system to cool equipment.

Beautiful Data Centers

Datacenter Dynamics listed these beautiful data centers in its February/March issue of DCD Magazine.

• The Switch Pyramid near Grand Rapids, Michigan occupies a building the former Steelcase design center. The 225,000 sq ft data center uses the lower two floors.
• The Bahnhof data center in Stockholm is in a former nuclear bunker. It features waterfalls, a saltwater fish tank, and live plants. Submarine diesel engines generate backup power.
• The Barcelona Supercomputing Center occupies a 19th century church, the Torre Girona. It houses the MareNostrum supercomputer, an IBM project with the Spanish government.
• Located in Google, Oklahoma, this data center has murals on the outside walls. The murals represent data center activities and images from Google Maps. Jerry Odell was the concept artist who worked with 15 painters to create this marvelous project.
• Naver is South Korea’s leading web portal. The data center is at the foot of Mount Gubong in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province.
• Green Mountain, Norway – The data center listed above is both beautiful and environmentally efficient.
• The NGD Newport data center is in a former LG semiconductor plant in Wales. Electricity from the Dinorwig hydroelectric facility powers the site.
• Digital Reality owns the Amsterdam Data Tower in The Netherlands. Rosbach Architects of the Netherlands designed the building.
• AQL built its headquarters and data center in the 18th century Salem Chapel in Leeds, UK. The data center has a glass ceiling, and it occupies the ground floor of the chapel.
• The LuxConnect data center in Bissen, Luxembourg has grass on its roof to minimize environmental impact. Steel mesh walls act as a Faraday cage for security.

Coolest Data Centers

Some of the coolest data centers in the world include the following:

• Google’s Floating Data Center
• Ozark’s Data Center in the Missouri Mountains
• Sun Microsystem Data Center Bat Cave
• The Bahnhof data center is extremely attractive
• The Barcelona Supercomputing Center is a marvel of design

Hackers are smarter and more capable than ever before, leaving virtual phone lines, computers, and smart home technology susceptible to hacking. Just as software and internet programs are created to help better society and assist us in carrying out daily tasks, there are also people using technology to invade the privacy of others, manipulate information, and steal sensitive data.

Imagine how a system could be developed with no coding errors or weaknesses in the system. This would change the future of wireless communication as we know it. Hackers and malware would be detected so easily that secure networks would be virtually unhackable. This high level of security would change the way telecom functions and protects its users. Enter the technology of quantum communication.

As quantum communication continues to be studied and understood, countries that are at the forefront of technology and thought leadership are looking to implement quantum technology into the operation of various business sectors.

In order to understand the important relationship between quantum communication and telecom, we must understand how each system functions.

What is Quantum Communication?

Quantum communication uses Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) to operate. This distribution enhances security because its innovative system instantly alerts someone when they are being listened to or observed. QKD uses cryptographic keys that are heavily encrypted and difficult to decipher. Entangled photons are the basis of quantum communication and they aren’t bound by geographical limits. As photons move under unexpected observation when a hacker successfully enters a quantum system, it will immediately break the entanglement of photons and create obvious changes.

This is a game changer for national security and information protection because most security systems attempt to block hackers before they can enter a network, or they can try to clean up malware after an attack happens. Quantum communication would be the first technology to instantly detect and alert users of security threats. This instant alert happens because it changes the information once it is accessed by an outside party.

What is Telecom?

Telecom is the most common way we transfer information in the modern world. It encompasses diverse types of technology that allow us to talk to one another, listen to the radio, and use the internet to connect over short and long distances.

Any time you use a cell phone or landline telephone, you’re using telecommunication. If you use a virtual phone system for business purposes, remote work, or to stay in touch with friends and family from a distance, telecom services are connecting you and the other party.

The telecommunications industry provides service to millions of individuals and companies on a daily basis. Because so many individuals rely on these services to gain access to people in various regions of the world, telecom service providers must always be considerate of personal security for their customers. The majority of business professionals and individuals discuss private matters, contract, and payment information. Therefore, a conversation that is held over a phone or powered by an internet connection should be protected by the latest technology that prevents others from secretly listening in.

While efforts to increase security are ongoing, cyber hacking remains a major threat for telecom professionals. Even with updated security measures in place, internet-savvy criminals are finding ways to break through protected systems. As more businesses transition to cloud communications, they must also be defensive by staying up-to-date on the latest hacking techniques that allow security invasions in all networks.

The Effects of Cyber Attacks on Businesses and Consumers

When businesses are hacked, it can be detrimental to the success of the organization. The cost of damage repair following a data breach is usually estimated be over a million dollars. Fixing the breach and implementing more security measures will require the use of company funds and may result in a loss of company time because employees might be unable to work until systems are secure. If you are an IT company, valuable work hours may have to be exhausted in an attempt to correct system errors, which would delay the time needed to meet other company goals.

The reputation of the company is also in jeopardy after a hacking incident. Many potential customers refuse to do business with an organization after it is successfully attacked. Current customers will take their business elsewhere out of fear that you will be hacked again in the future.

If you work with sponsors or investors, or you’re looking to partner with other businesses, the respective parties might back out of the agreement to protect their reputation and prevent the possible loss of funds from affiliating with your company. All of these scenarios will result in significant losses of money and trust that many small businesses cannot recover from in the future.

Businesses suffer from hacking, but the effects on individuals do not go unnoticed as many customers are affected for years following a cyber attack. When hackers gain access to private information, people often fall victim to identity theft. Identity theft isn’t just emotionally upsetting, it negatively affects credit scores and personal bank accounts. Some consumers may not realize when their private information has been compromised. By the time they discover that their identity has been stolen, cybercriminals have already shared their payment information and made purchases. At this point, victims must prove that someone else used their information illegally and wait until companies and credit organizations assess and rectify the damages.

What may be worse than the sharing of account information is the distribution of personal images and conversations that are meant to remain private. When this happens, it can destroy a person’s reputation at school, home, and work, and the stolen information becomes a lingering source of shame and embarrassment.

Quantum Technology Will Provide Advanced Security

Quantum communications can be the answer to the rising security risks involved when using telecommunications because the network encryption will be almost impossible to decipher. If a cyber breach does occur, the hackers will be stopped in their track to prevent damages. Using the quantum approach, telecom providers will be able to secure the privacy and protection of their customers and protect their business from revenue losses and a damaged brand. As consumers, we will be able to feel secure when speaking with business associates or discussing private matters.

Written descriptions of telecom or telecommunications topics use technical jargon and words not in most people’s day-to-day lexicon. Therefore, the following glossary gives definitions of some of the terms most frequently used in telecom discussions as an aid to non-technical readers.

Application Programming Interface – An Application Programming Interface (API) is software that facilitates communication between two computer programs. Global Call Forwarding’s voice API gives customers an interface between their software and Global Call Forwarding’s network. The API allows customers to obtain information such as call detail records and monthly usage.

Bandwidth – Bandwidth is the data transfer rate of a network in bits per second (bps) where “bit” is a binary digit (either 0 or 1). Messaging conversations require a bandwidth of fewer than 1,000 bits per second (Kbps). Modern networks operate at millions of bits per second (Mbps) or trillions (giga) of bits per second (Gbps).

Broadband – Broadband is a term for a high-speed internet connection, usually having a bandwidth greater than 256 Kbps.

Call Forwarding – Call forwarding is a service provided by Global Call Forwarding (GCF) for the local or international toll-free numbers that it sells. When a call is made to those numbers, GCF forwards those calls to subscribers’ numbers located anywhere in the world.

Cloud – The cloud is a network of servers each having different functions. Some of the servers run applications while others store data. Cloud-based services, like Google, Amazon or Facebook, own the servers.

CPaaS – Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS) is a cloud-based delivery model that allows organizations to add real-time communications capabilities to software and applications.

Fiber-Optic Communication – Fiber-optic communication occurs by passing light signals through optical fibers. This method of communication is favored for transmitting telephone signals, internet communication, and cable television signals because of its immunity to electromagnetic interference.

4G LTE – “4G” stands for the fourth generation of mobile data technology, and “LTE” stands for Long Term Evolution. The radio sector of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU-R) set the standards for 4G bandwidth at 100 Mbps for mobile use (smartphones and tablets) and 1 Gbps for stationary use (hotspots). Since the standards were unreachable, LTE indicates that the technology is in pursuit of the standards.

5G – “5G” stands for fifth-generation mobile networks or wireless systems, and 5G systems will provide improvements over LTE for coverage, efficiency, and reduced latency. It should deliver bandwidth over 10 Mbps for tens of thousands of users, 100 Mbps in metropolitan areas, 1 Gbps simultaneously for workers in the same office, and simultaneous connections for thousands of wireless sensors.

Interactive Voice Response – With Interactive Voice Response (IVR), a computer answers incoming calls, prompts callers for information, and forwards calls to their proper destinations. This is a free feature to businesses buying virtual numbers. The feature is programmable and customizable to suit business needs.

Internet – The internet is a network of billions of computers. Cables or wireless signals connect these computers to form the network through various service providers.

Millimeter Waves – Millimeter waves (mmWaves) have wavelengths between 10 and 1 millimeters (mm). They travel at extremely high frequencies from 30 to 300 GHz where Hz stands for Hertz or cycles per second, a unit of measure for frequency. Because of their ability to transmit large amounts of data, mmWave technology is a candidate for 5G networks.

Modem and Router – A router connects your network to the computer and wireless devices, and the modem connects the network to the internet. Many internet service providers distribute combined modem–router units to their customers.

MMS – MMS stands for multimedia messaging service, which permits the sending of messages composed of text, slideshows, videos, and single images.

Net Neutrality – Net Neutrality is a principle whereby Internet Service Providers (ISPs) must treat all data on the internet equally. They cannot discriminate or charge differently based on application, attached equipment, communication method, content, platform, user, or website. With net neutrality, ISPs cannot intentionally block, slow down, or charge money for specific websites and online content.

PBX – PBX is an acronym for Private Branch Exchange. A private branch exchange is an internal telephone network for businesses or enterprises. A number of external lines connect into the PBX, which switches calls to and from the company’s extensions.

Sequential Forwarding – After a set number of rings, this feature forwards unanswered calls to a maximum of four sequential numbers.

SMS – SMS stands for short message service, commonly known as text messages. The maximum length of an SMS text is 918 characters. However, if a message is over 160 characters, it is broken down into separate messages of 153 characters or less.

Telecommunication – Telecommunication is the transmission of content, including messages, images, and data. Electromagnetic systems, such as wire, radio, or optical, are the transmission methods. Electromagnetic systems operate because of physical interactions between electrically charged particles.

Time-of-Day Routing – Time-of-day routing forwards calls based time of receipt. For example, the feature may route calls between 8:00 am and 5:00 pm to a business number. For all other times, it may forward calls to home numbers, voicemail, or mobile numbers.

Vanity Phone Numbers – A vanity phone number is one with an easily remembered number or character sequence. For example, a memorable sequence of digits could be 1-888-888-8888. An easily remembers character sequence may relate to a business such as 1-800-TSHIRTS for a tee shirt store.

Virtual Phone Numbers – The local numbers, which GCF sells, are virtual phone numbers. They differ from standard local numbers because GCF forwards the incoming calls to phones anywhere in the world. The virtual local number gives any company a virtual office in the community where the number is located.

VoIP – VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol, which is a phone service that transmits calls over the internet as opposed to transmitting through a traditional Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). VoIP systems are particularly attractive to companies that have under-utilized network capacity.

Web – The web or World Wide Web consists of web pages on the internet computers or servers. The code for the web pages uses Hypertext Markup Language (HTML). Universal Resource Locators (URLs) make up the addresses of the web pages. Persons that wish to visit a web page enter the URL in their internet browser, which connects to the site.

Communication technology has reached new heights – or length, perhaps, depending upon the context. Microsoft, Facebook, and telecom infrastructure company Telxius have jointly laid a giant 4,000-mile-long transatlantic cable between North America and Spain, enhancing the world of communications forevermore.

It has the capacity of 160-terabits per second, equal to streaming 70 million HD videos at the same time. This is the highest capacity subsea cable to have ever crossed the Atlantic Ocean. Operational by early 2018, the cable is 16 million times faster than the average Internet connection, so claims Microsoft.

Named Marea (Spanish for “tide,”), the cable lies 17,000 feet below the ocean surface and stretches between Virginia Beach in the US and the city of Bilbao, Spain. Microsoft is hopeful that this cable will prevent the disruption of communication systems between the two countries in the event of natural disasters like hurricanes. This will benefit Microsoft and Facebook most of all because both of these companies have large data operation centers in Virginia.

Microsoft president, Brad Smith said that it was about time a system like Marea was developed because submarine cables in the Atlantic carry double the data carried by trans-Pacific cables, and with the demand increasing every year, the need for more transatlantic submarine cables also increases. Made of eight pairs of fiber optic cable, Marea mostly lies on the ocean floor, though some parts of it are buried for protection against shipping traffic.

Marea will help establish a faster and stronger telecommunications link not only between the US and Europe, but also between other countries like Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, where a billion of future Internet users are supposed to come from. The complex process took the engineers over five months to load and place the cable along the seabed.

Subsea cable technology is nothing new in the grand scheme of things. The very first transatlantic cable was laid by Cyrus Field in 1858, in order to connect the New World with the old. His grandiose attempt was deemed as ‘raising a ladder to the moon.’ Field was one of the few people in those days who understood the importance of a communications link between the major nations of the world.

So when a project to link Canada to New York was almost on the brink of bankruptcy, it gave Field an idea to connect the two nations via Newfoundland. In 1856, Field bought the failing cable company and turned it to the Atlantic Telegraph Company. Thus began his attempt to bring the idea to life.

Although the first transatlantic telegraph cable was a successful attempt, it only functioned for three weeks. Attempts were made again in 1865 and 1866 that were more successful, but they weren’t long-lasting either. Those were early days, and the engineers had yet to master the technology needed to not only run, but also sustain an undersea cable.

Despite the short lifespan of these first cables, they were hailed as the ‘eighth wonder of the world,’ as it enabled faster communication between nations. In a way, this was one of the earliest steps towards globalization. The first transatlantic telephone cable system was laid between Scotland and Newfoundland in 1956. The first transoceanic fiber-optic cable was laid in 1988, connecting the United States, the United Kingdom, and France. This was the first set of fiber optic cables to ever be used. They turned out to be much faster and more efficient than traditional copper lines.

All cables currently not only use fiber optic technology, but also fiber optic transmission, and a self-healing ring topology. So efficient are these cables that by the late 1900s, communications satellites lost most of their North Atlantic telephone traffic, thanks to these cables that are low cost, while providing high capacity and low latency.

With time, cables have only gotten more advanced. The tighter they are, the higher speed they provide. Transatlantic cables laid after 2012 take the latency to under 60 milliseconds. More than 99 percent of international communication is routed through fiber optic cables situated at the bottom of oceans.

As the need for faster and more efficient communication has risen over the years, technology has also kept pace and never stopped advancing. There are modern innovations like cloud computing and artificial intelligence that are not only changing the way we use the internet, but also proving beneficial to society on a multitude of levels. For instance, video content was thought to be only for entertainment purposes till a few years ago. Now, a lot of industries use video content to take their services to more people.

This includes the healthcare industry, where features like telemedicine and video connections are becoming more prevalent; the education industry where high-quality distance learning is shaping the future; and various other businesses where virtual offices are replacing the need to have land-based offices. The new MAREA cable will enable business in Spain to easily operate in the US with the help of virtual communication.

Marea was made possible by the strong collaboration between the US and Spain. The project received tremendous support from Spain, with multiple ministries of the Spanish government approving and facilitating the application for the installation permit for the cable landing in Bilbao.

On the other hand, the US landing was quickly approved by the federal government in Washington, D.C., supported by the authorities in Virginia. Although the process could have taken several years, the strong communication between the two nations, plus the immediate sense of urgency enabled the project to be completed in a little over two years.

Instead of depending on telecom companies to provide the infrastructure for new communication links, tech giants are funding new cables themselves. Like Microsoft and Facebook, tech giant Google has also invested in two subsea cables that run from the US to South America, Japan, and other Asian countries.

With the new Marea subsea cable, Facebook and Microsoft will have more control over the huge amounts of data that they need to transmit around the world in the shortest possible time. A lot of their services – from Office 365 to Instagram – will benefit from the technology without a doubt.