- Meta plans a multibillion-dollar global underwater cable project spanning 31,000 miles.
- The project will ramp up data transmission and connect the US to India, Brazil, and South Africa.
- Meta says it aims to improve global connectivity and support innovation in artificial intelligence.
Meta has unveiled plans to spend billions of dollars as part of its multi-year ambition to build the world’s longest subsea cable and accelerate AI innovation.
In a blog post on Friday, the company said its new Waterworth Project will cover over 50,000 kilometers, or about 31,000 miles, making the project’s cable longer than the Earth’s 24,901-mile circumference.
The Waterworth Project aims to connect five continents, linking the US to India, Brazil, South Africa, and other key regions.
Meta didn’t specify the exact cost and timeline of the project, but it said it would be a “multibillion-dollar, multi-year investment” to improve global connectivity. Last November, TechCrunch reported the company may spend over $10 billion on a nearly 25,000-mile underwater cable project led by Meta’s South Africa office that the company would 100% own.
Subsea cables form an integral part of the world’s internet infrastructure, shuttling data around the world at close to the speed of light thanks to their fiber optic technology. In its blog, Meta noted that cables spanning the world’s oceans account for the transfer of “more than 95% of intercontinental traffic.”
Meta sees the subsea cables as vital to unlocking future AI innovation as CEO Mark Zuckerberg increasingly shifts the company’s focus to generative AI.
Last month, the company announced plans to boost its spending up to $65 billion this year as it seeks to build vast data centers capable of training and hosting the increasingly powerful large language models at the heart of the generative AI boom.
Manuel Orbegozo/REUTERS
According to Meta’s blog post, the Waterworth Project aims to ramp up data transmission capacity by using a fiber optic cable containing 24 fiber pairs instead of the typical systems that use 8 to 16 fiber pairs.
It said the project’s features include a first-of-its-kind routing to optimize the cable installed in deep water at depths up to 7 kilometers, or about 4.3 miles. It also said it would use “enhanced burial techniques” in shallow, high-risk areas to protect against damage from ship anchors and potential hazards, which would maintain cable resilience.
“As AI continues to transform industries and societies around the world, it’s clear that capacity, resilience, and global reach are more important than ever to support leading infrastructure,” it said.
The project’s announcement comes after tankers dragging their anchors have severed undersea cables in recent months in the Baltic Sea and East China Sea.
Officials in Europe have accused Russia of sabotaging undersea cables, while Taiwan has said it suspects China is behind the damage off its northern shores.
Cable resilience is key to the global financial system, which depends on a vast network of undersea cables that crisscross the sea floor, carry $10 trillion worth of transactions every day, and power Wall Street’s global trading and communications.
“We’ve driven infrastructure innovation with various partners over the past decade, developing more than 20 subsea cables,” Meta’s blog post said.
“With Project Waterworth, we can help ensure that the benefits of AI and other emerging technologies are available to everyone, regardless of where they live or work.”
Meta didn’t immediately reply to Business Insider’s request for comment.
