[Digital Today intern reporter Seung-a Yoo] Google will build three new large subsea cables linking North America, Central America and South America.

According to IT media outlet TechRadar on Aug. 12 local time, the expansion focuses on using the Dominican Republic as a central hub to increase connection capacity between the U.S. East Coast, the Caribbean and Latin America.

The newly announced cable systems are Alearios, Canoas and Olarus. All three systems pass through the Dominican Republic and include routes running from Florida via the Dominican Republic to Panama and Chile. Google plans to improve connectivity not only between North America and South America but also in Central America through the buildout.

Alearios is a subsea cable linking the Dominican Republic, Panama and Chile. The name comes from a Spanish word meaning the trade winds that guided ships from Europe to the Americas.

Canoas links the Dominican Republic and Bermuda. The name comes from the Taino indigenous language meaning canoe. The system also connects with Google’s existing Nuvem and Sol cable systems, creating an additional direct connection route from Latin America and the Caribbean to Europe and North America.

Olarus directly links the Dominican Republic and Florida. The name combines the Spanish word for waves, "ola", and "luz", meaning "light". Google said this segment will "significantly strengthen" network capacity between the Caribbean and the U.S. East Coast.

Along with the three new cables, Google will add a Dominican Republic landing branch to the existing Firmina subsea cable. Firmina is an existing system linking North America and South America, and the additional branch is largely intended to strengthen the resilience of the existing route.

Google said the investment will support its strategy to build a global subsea network, particularly its Pacific Connect initiative that spans the world’s largest ocean. In a blog post, Google said, "With new investments, we continue to push to build an open global cloud network with broader reach, reliability and resilience."

It added, "The new systems can further promote future connectivity through strategically placed branching units," and said they were designed so that the network and partners can grow together in line with local demand and opportunities, reflecting the same approach as the Pacific Connect initiative.