Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) plans to build four new infrastructure hubs across Africa to link its latest subsea fiber-optic cables, Bloomberg News reported Thursday, citing Alex Okosi, Google's Africa managing director.
The hubs, expected to serve the north, west, south, and east of the continent and include landing stations and data-center connections, will reportedly be funded by Google, Okosi declined to provide cost details.
Google plans to land its Equiano and Umoja cables on the continent this year and expects the hubs to be completed within three years, the news outlet reported.
The infrastructure should cut connectivity costs and reduce disruption when subsea cables are damaged, and said the investments are intended to help realise Africa's AI potential, Bloomberg quoted Okosi as saying.
Google has "definitely surpassed" the $1 billion Africa commitment it made in 2021 and said the hubs could make it cheaper for partners such as MTN and Vodacom to expand broadband, the media outlet reported.
Shares of Alphabet were up over 1% in recent Thursday premarket activity.
(Market Chatter news is derived from conversations with market professionals globally. This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed.)
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