Google Swims to Tokyo

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We're going to see a lot more of Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) across the Pacific. The search-and-advertising giant and a consortium of pan-Asian telecom and data-traffic providers have commissioned a new fiber-optic cable between Japan and the West Coast that will improve the trans-Pacific bandwidth by as much as 20%.

NEC and Tyco Telecommunications (NYSE: TEL) will start construction on 6,200 miles of cable immediately and are planning to start the data flow by 2010. We don't have the financial details of this "Unity" project, but all of the companies involved have deep pockets and won't feel undue strain under the payments.

Clearly, Google is setting its sights on the markets that are exploding in the Far East. It's time to make a push into territories that traditionally belong to the likes of Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU), Rediff (Nasdaq: REDF), and NHN, and to do that, the company needs a high-quality data link across the seas, so it can ensure that its business needs are met before doling out data packets to individual Web surfers. This is not about turning Google into a telecom, but rather about making sure that the company's services can grow globally without running into bandwidth limitations.

Google's participation in the FCC auction for wireless spectrum slices might have a similar focus, but that's more likely a way for Big G to ensure that Verizon (NYSE: VZ), AT&T (NYSE: T), and other serious bidders meet the $4.6 billion reserve price to trigger open-access clauses in the contract. Then there's the third data-control plan with Googlish influence -- a proposed flotilla of hydrogen-filled balloons that could expand Internet access in rural America. We still haven't mentioned the EarthLink (Nasdaq: ELNK) Wi-Fi networks across San Francisco and potentially other cities. Of course, that project died a premature death, but it's the Googly way to take fliers on unproven business methods.

Google might get into some kind of Internet service provider role, but it probably won't. The early efforts have fared poorly. But you can rest assured that the company won't run out of internal bandwidth, if it can be helped.

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