New megacable to connect internet between Spain and USA

Tech giants Facebook and Microsoft are to build a new mega-cable that will link Europe, the Middle East and Asia with the USA via Spain.

The underwater cable will reach land in Bilbao, and is being seen as a springboard for IT based companies in the region.

The new cable will be able to handle record amounts of data, at over 160 terrabytes per second, 16 million times faster than a domestic broadband connection.

The new 6000 km cable will connect Bilbao with a similar data centre in Northern Virginia.

The cable construction will begin in August 2016 and will be completed in October 2017.