Facebook has invested in a project to help boost internet speed and availability to nearly a dozen Asia-Pacific countries, according to the BBC.
The Asia Pacific Gateway project, which was finalized in December fo 2011, is working to build a massive underwater cable network stretching from Malaysia to South Korea and Japan. Along the way, the network will also flow to other “landing stations” in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Vietnam, and Singapore.
“The APG cable system is designed with the latest 40 Gbps wavelength technology and is designed to accommodate 100 Gbps wavelength technology for increasing efficiency and high-capacity. The total design capacity is up to 54.8Tbps,” according to a release from the APG Cable Consortium.
According to the BBC, Facebook won’t say exactly how much money they’re pumping into the initiative, but we do know that all of the investments from multiple sources total around $450 million.
“Our investment in this cable will help support our growth in South Asia, making it possible for us to provide a better user experience for a greater number of Facebook users in countries like India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Hong Kong, and Singapore,” said a Facebook spokesman.
The project, which was initiated back in 2009, took a couple of years to get off the ground. When it was finally signed and begun in 2011, 14 total members had given the backing.
The project is supposedly set to complete by summer, 2014.
What’s Facebook’s interest here? Well, apart from spreading internet across the region for the good of mankind, Facebook is most likely looking to penetrate the Asian market much more successfully in the upcoming years. After engagement notoriously lagged in regions like Japan for years, recent data has suggested that Facebook could be taking off (albeit slowly) in the region.
