Google is laying the foundation for a fiber-optic network that will link for the first time between Saudi Arabia and Israel, while opening a new corridor for global internet traffic, according to people familiar with it.

The American Wall Street Journal (Wallstreetjournal) said - on Monday = that Google is planning a huge network project linking Europe with India through the Middle East, with the aim of increasing the pass-through capabilities of existing networks and developing the company's data centers.

Alphabit, the owner of Google, is competing with Facebook to expand its fiber-optic network, to support growing user demand for videos, search results and other products.

Google - which named most of its Internet cables after scientists - named this cable Blue Raman, named after Indian physicist Chandraskara Venkata Raman, and the submarine cable project will cost Blue Raman up to $ 400 million.

Google project insiders warned that it may not materialize, as it will require agreements with many regulators, and one hurdle may force Google to redesign the path, as it did not get the green light it needed from the Saudi authorities to link the Blue Raman project.

Riyadh and Tel Aviv

People familiar with the project said that the tech giant wants to open a new road to ease the congestion of the Internet in Egypt, as the Egyptian government imposes on telecom operators some of the heaviest fees for crossing its land and water, which can add up to 50% of the cost of a road from Europe to India, according to Industry consultants.

The consultants added that this congestion also increases the risks of internet interruptions caused by the interruption of cables under the crowded shipping lanes in the Red Sea.

The route will likely consist of a submarine cable between India and Saudi Arabia, with links to neighboring countries such as Oman.

People familiar with the project said it would cross overland through Jordan and Israel, most likely through the existing fiber-optic infrastructure.

The Blue Raman project is the result of a series of deals brokered by the United States and created new diplomatic and commercial relations between the Arab Gulf states and Israel, as the UAE, Bahrain and Sudan normalized their relations with Israel, under the coordination of the administration of US President Donald Trump.

Alphabet, which owns Google, is competing with Facebook to expand its fiber optic network (Reuters)

Israeli Communications Minister Yoaz Hendel welcomed the opportunity to strengthen relations between Israel and the countries of the region, saying in an interview, "In any place where you can lay cables by land or under the sea, you also create common interests," underlining any security concerns, saying that Israel "knows" How to defend its infrastructure and data. "

The Jordanian Minister of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship, Ahmad Hananda, said that the project would provide an alternative route through Europe and Asia and reduce communication costs, adding that "any lines connecting us to the world will benefit Jordan."

Google is not the only company working on such connections. Facebook is focusing on Project 2 Africa (2Africa), which is an internet network designed to provide more capacity than all the existing submarine cables in Africa combined.

This system is expected to cross Egypt to Europe, but it may also link to Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries.