U.S. tech giants including Alphabet Inc’s Google are considering alternatives to Hong Kong as a global data hub after U.S. officials upended plans for a trans-pacific internet link to the territory, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday citing people familiar with the matter.
“We have been working through established channels in order to obtain cable landing licenses for various undersea cables, and we will continue to abide by the decisions made by designated agencies in the locations where we operate,” a Google spokesperson said.
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The U.S. Department of Justice had signalled staunch opposition to the project because of concerns over its Chinese investor, Dr. Peng Telecom & Media Group Co, and the direct link that the cable would provide to Hong Kong, the Wall Street Journal had reported in August.
Subsea cables form the backbone of the internet by carrying 99% of the world’s data traffic.
