Meta has just announced the 50,000 km Project Waterworth submarine cable project connecting 5 continents, the longest in the world when completed.
According to Meta, Waterworth will connect five continents with landing stations in the US, Brazil, India, South Africa and other key areas.
Parent company Facebook specifically cited opportunities in India and the network's role in deploying AI services globally as two key drivers of the project.
Meta says it will break new ground with its own architecture, a 24-fiber pair (24FP) configuration, maximizing cable depths of up to 7,000m, and new burial techniques to reduce faults in areas deemed “high risk” due to geographic or political issues or both.
Previously, on February 13, the White House released a joint statement between the US and Indian leaders, detailing areas in which the two countries will cooperate.
Joint development of undersea technology as part of defence cooperation, Meta's Waterworth project and India's financial support role were mentioned in the statement.
The Meta cable will be launched this year. India plans to invest in maintenance, repair and financing of submarine cables in the Indian Ocean, using trusted suppliers.
In November 2024, TechCrunch reported that the growth of AI data centers and cloud services in India — the world’s most populous country — was a key reason Meta embarked on the project.
In a new blog, Meta's Vice President of Engineering Gaya Nagarajan and Global Network Investment Director Alex-Handra Aime said the cable will facilitate digital communications, video experiences and online transactions.
The multi-year, multi-billion dollar project aims to increase the scale and reliability of “digital highways” by opening three new ocean corridors with high-speed connectivity, accelerating AI innovation around the world.
According to telecommunications analysts TeleGeography, Meta is a co-owner of 16 cables. Waterworth would be the first submarine cable in which the company is the sole owner. Google – Meta's rival – is also involved in 33 different cables.
Source: vietnamnet.vn