Google and Facebook will build the Apricot project with local partners. It is a 12,000-kilometer submarine cable intended to connect Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia, Guam, the Philippines, and Singapore. The submarine cable extension covers the needs of 4G and 5G networks in the region and is designed to offer more than 190 TB per second. It is expected to become operational in 2024. The new Apricot submarine cables will support the existing cables: Echo, which connects to Indonesia; and Bifrost, which connects to Guam. These two cables, totaling approximately 1.1 million kilometers, are responsible for the majority of global internet traffic. “Echo and Apricot are complementary systems that will offer benefits with multiple routes within and outside of Asia, ensuring a significantly greater degree of resilience for Google Cloud and digital services. Together, they will provide businesses with lower latency, more bandwidth, and greater resilience in their connectivity between Southeast Asia, North Asia, and the US,” the company states. Google states that this deployment will have a measurable impact on regional economic activity. An analysis by the consulting firm Analysys Mason indicates that its network investments would have generated an additional $430 billion in the Asia-Pacific region\'s aggregate GDP and 1.1 million additional jobs. In total, the company participates in 18 submarine cables, including the Grace Hopper project, which will connect Spain with the United Kingdom and the United States in 2022.