Around the world for $10 billion: Meta intends to lay its own underwater Internet cable with a length of more than 40 thousand km

Meta✴ services today account for 10% of cable and 22% of mobile traffic in the world. The company’s investments in AI should even increase this share, so Meta✴ is preparing new infrastructure to support the corresponding business, TechCrunch reports. We are talking about a new cable of enormous length.

According to TechCrunch sources, the company intends to lay a fiber-optic cable with a length of more than 40 thousand km, encircling literally the entire world, which will require investments in the amount of $10 billion. The project is designed to last for years. However, it is still in the early stages, and the company itself should officially announce the new initiative in early 2025. The task will not be easy, since companies like SubCom, which can lay out the necessary infrastructure, are inundated with contracts for years to come, including from other hyperscalers.

Upon completion of construction, Meta✴ will receive its own dedicated channel for data transmission throughout the world. The cable will stretch from the US east coast to India via South Africa and from there to the US west coast via Australia, sources said. In fact, a huge W-shaped structure will appear.

Image source: frank mckenna/unsplash.com

Meta✴ is already a co-owner of 16 existing cable systems, including 2Africa, which spans the African continent. At the same time, many other companies in Africa are participants in the project, and only Meta✴ will become the owner of the new global cable. As a result, the company will become a full-fledged player in the cable infrastructure market on a par with Google – the latter is involved in approximately 33 cable projects. Amazon (AWS) and Microsoft also have a stake in some, although they do not have full ownership of the cables. However, the landscape has already changed – megacorporations will soon control a significant part of the undersea Internet highways.

Owning its own cable will give Meta✴ the opportunity to distribute traffic in the territories where it runs. At the same time, the company claims that the economic effect of its investments in the regions’ underwater infrastructure has exceeded $500 billion. Of course, the main motive is more pragmatic – IT companies do not want to rely on telecom operators to deliver content, advertising and other information around the world. At the same time, within countries, to gain access to the “last mile” one still has to negotiate with local operators.

Another reason for laying our own cables is geopolitics. Cables have already been damaged in the Red Sea, and they also looked for political reasons for the recent incident in the Baltic Sea. According to TecCrunch sources, the route planned by Meta✴ will help the company avoid “tension zones” – the Red and South China Seas, Egypt, Marseille, the Strait of Malacca and Singapore.

Image source: Submarine Cable Map

Another incentive could be the US Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) revision of its submarine cable licensing principles – Meta✴ will literally become the sole owner of the cable passing through secure corridors. The possible construction of a section to India is also important – the country has big plans for the development of AI and additional capacity will definitely be in demand. Additionally, India itself is a key market for Meta✴ – it is the largest user of Facebook✴, Instagram✴ and WhatsApp in the world with great growth potential.

So far, sources do not know whether AI is a significant part of the Meta✴ “equation” in the new project, or whether the company will open the new digital highway to other users or will use it only for its own needs. Previously, information had already appeared about a hypothetical Meta✴ cable on a global scale, but then they were talking about investments of only $2 billion.