In a move that observers describe as unprecedented, a U.S. government regulation committee is likely to recommend halting construction of an 8.000-mile submarine cable connecting America with China over national security concerns.
Washington, until today, has never stopped the construction of submarine cables, which constitute the global backbone of the Internet, facilitating almost 100% of Internet traffic. Much of the submarine cable network is being replaced by modern optical cables that can facilitate ever-faster Internet communications.
One of these networks is the Pacific Light Cable Network (PLCN), an 8.000-mile submarine cable construction project funded by Google, Facebook and Dr. Peng Telecom & Media Group Co., one of the largest telecommunications and hardware manufacturers in China. The completion of the PLCN will produce the first direct Internet link between Los Angeles and Hong Kong and is expected to increase Internet speeds in both China and the United States. Most of the PLCN has already been laid and its completion is scheduled for this year.
But now a US regulatory committee would recommend blocking the final construction phase of the PLCN. According to the Wall Street Journal, the Committee fears that the 300 million dollar project could facilitate Chinese espionage. The Committee led by the Department of Justice, known as Team Telecom It is composed of officials from several American government agencies.
Never before has the United States blocked the construction of a submarine cable, the Journal reported. National security problems have been raised with reference to previous submarine cable projects, some of which have been partially financed by Chinese-owned companies. But the projects eventually continued after the producers were able to prove that the design of submarine cables prohibited the installation of telephone interceptions. If the PLCN project is blocked, it will be the first case of its kind in the history of the Internet in America.
The PLCN supporters' response document claims that it would give US government regulators greater control over Internet traffic safety even before it reached US territory. Furthermore, PLCN investors say that the completion of the project will provide American companies with greater access to consumers in Asia. Google, Facebook, Dr. Peng Telecom and the US government have refused, however, to comment on the report.