In a recent blog post, Meta announced plans to build a subsea cable that will connect all five continents, spanning over 31,068m or 50,000km- longer than the circumference of the Earth
Named Project Waterworth, the multi-year, multi-billion subsea cable project “will bring industry-leading connectivity to the U.S., India, Brazil, South Africa, and other key regions,” according to Meta, such as supporting India’s growing digital economy.
By opening three new oceanic corridors, Project Waterworth will enable “greater economic cooperation, facilitate digital inclusion, and open opportunities for technological development”- especially in the drive for innovation in AI.
Continuing Meta’s undersea infrastructure developments
Meta’s vice president of Network Engineering Gaya Nagarajan and global head of investments Alex-Handrah Aimé outlined the subsea cable project in a blog post and referenced previous work on over 20 subsea cables in the last ten years. This includes “multiple deployments of industry-leading subsea cables of 24 fiber pairs – compared to the typical 8 to 16 fiber pairs of other new systems.” Project Waterworth will constitute the longest 24 fiber pair cable project in the world.
The project will also deploy first-of-its-kind routing, maximising the cable laid in deep water — at depths up to 7,000 meters — and using enhanced burial techniques in high-risk fault areas, such as shallow waters near the coast, to avoid damage from ship anchors and other hazards.
“AI is revolutionizing every aspect of our lives”
Subsea cables projects, such as Project Waterworth, “are the backbone of global digital infrastructure”, accounting for more than 95% of intercontinental traffic across the world’s oceans to seamlessly enable digital communication, video experiences, online transactions, and more, Meta stated.
This will increasingly include artificial intelligence, to which the company also reaffirmed its commitments: “AI is revolutionizing every aspect of our lives, from how we interact with each other to how we think about infrastructure – and Meta is at the forefront of building these innovative technologies.
“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. 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.”
