Google has announced a $1 billion investment to deliver two new subsea cables, Proa and Taihei, to create new fiber-optic routes between the continental U.S. and Japan.

Initiated in collaboration with several partners, including KDDI, Arteria, Citadel Pacific, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), the cables will improve digital connectivity between the Japan and multiple Pacific Island countries and territories that are already well-connected to the continental US, Google said in a blog post.

The Proa cable will connect Japan to CNMI and Guam, which are both connected to the continental US by the Taiwan-Philippines-US (TPU) cable. Taihei will link Japan with Hawaii, which is connected to the continental US by the TABUA cable.

Additionally, Google is investing in the construction of an interlink cable that will span Hawaii, CNMI, and Guam. This interlink will improve connectivity for users in the Pacific Islands and around the world by linking transpacific routes.

Submarine cables have the potential to deliver economic and productivity improvements to the regions they connect.

The investments in network infrastructure Google has made across the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region supported approximately 1.3 million additional jobs by 2021 and contributed $640 billion to the region’s aggregate GDP from 2010 to 2021, according to a report from Analysys Mason commissioned and sponsored by Google.

Furthermore, such investments offer opportunities for US-based companies to enhance their presence in the APAC region. This is particularly significant at a time when geopolitical dynamics are prompting businesses to seek alternatives to Chinese entities.