Tech firms and lawmakers celebrate new trans-Atlantic cable

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Lawmakers and tech industry leaders have announced the completion of a new high-speed data cable that stretches across the Atlantic Ocean.

Representatives from Facebook and Microsoft joined with Virginia’s governor and two senators in Williamsburg to celebrate the cable’s completion on Friday morning.

The 4,000-mile cable runs from Bilbao, Spain, to Virginia Beach. It can transmit 160 terabits of data per second.

That’s 16 million times faster than the average home internet connection. Put another way, it could stream 71 million high-definition videos at once.

The cable is named Marea, which is Spanish for “tide.” It’s a joint project between Microsoft, Facebook and global telecommunication company Telxius.

The cable will help to meet growing demand for internet infrastructure across the globe. It will also make the network more reliable.

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