Google’s “Cloud” project, which foresees a submarine cable system stretching 6900 kilometers between Europe and the United States of America, is based on a connection to the island of São Miguel, which should also receive a data center from the multinational company.
At the official presentation of the project yesterday at the Conceição Palace in Ponta Delgada, the President of the Regional Government, José Manuel Bolieiro, argued that the installation of the Google Cloud submarine cable represents a “project for the future” with “centrality” in the Azores.
The system should be operational by 2026 and represents, according to “Jornal de Negócios”, an investment of tens of millions of euros by Google. It is the first direct link between the USA and Portugal.
The US city of Myrtle Beach, in South Carolina, Bermuda, São Miguel, and Sines will be connected. A cable mooring station is to be set up in São Miguel, allowing the submarine cable to be connected to the network.
Speaking to “Jornal de Negócios”, the vice-president of the regional government, Artur Lima, described the future data center as “very useful” for the Azores on several levels.
This center should create between 10 and 20 “highly differentiated” jobs in the initial phase, said Artur Lima.
“The investment is 100% private and it’s good that governments can attract private investment from a company the size of Google,” he said.
The project’s priority, according to “Jornal de Negócios”, will be for the communications of Google’s services, i.e. it will not be used generally, as in the case of the submarine cables linking mainland Portugal, the Azores, and Madeira (CAM).

Regarding CAM, the vice president of the Regional Government promised news soon and stressed that “the mooring point has already been defined, it will be in Terceira”.
José Manuel Bolieiro, quoted in a press release from the Regional Government’s communications office, praised Google’s “strategic vision”, which presents a “private investment with public value” and which “is more about the future than the present”.
“We have a territory reduced to the land component, the country itself has a residual size and the Azores are ultraperipheral. But if we associate the territory with the maritime and spatial dimension, then Portugal and the Azores already have an unequivocal geocentricity,” he said.
“I’m proud of the history of the Azores, but I’m convinced that the Azores have more of a future than a past with this kind of initiative,” he said.
According to José Manuel Bolieiro, the regional government has “always kept secret” the talks with Google for the cable linking the United States to Europe to be laid in the Azores.
Present at the session, in addition to the director general of Google Portugal, Bernardo Correia, were the president of ANACOM, Sandra Maximiano, and the US consul in the Azores, Margaret C. Campbell.

In Diário Insular, José Lourenço-director

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno, PBBI thanks Luso Financial for sponsoring NOVIDADES.