Google to string undersea cable from France to Virginia

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) - Google says it will string a trans-Atlantic cable from France to Virginia.

The web giant said in a statement this week that the undersea cable will land stateside in Virginia Beach. It's expected to become operational in 2020.

Google said the project will better serve customers with an expanded network. Internet traffic across the Atlantic is among the busiest.

The cable will also support growth of Google Cloud. And it will land in relative proximity to Google's planned data center in northern Virginia.

The project is named after innovator Henri Dunant, the first Nobel Peace Prize winner and founder of the Red Cross.

Last year, a cable between Virginia Beach and Bilbao, Spain, became operational. It's the result of a joint project between Microsoft, Facebook and global telecommunication company Telxius.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.