A new report from TechCrunch reveals that Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp—one of the largest drivers of internet usage globally, accounting for about 10% of all fixed and 22% of mobile traffic—is planning to secure its own undersea fiber-optic cables to "avoid areas of geopolitical tension." This move comes amid alarming sabotage incidents of undersea cables from the Baltics to the Red Sea region.
Sources familiar with the plans say Meta's new undersea fiber pipe will begin with a project cost of $2 billion and could rapidly expand to upwards of $10 billion as the project expands in the years ahead.
Sources close to Meta confirmed the project but said it is still in its early stages. Plans have been laid out, but physical assets have not, and they declined to discuss budget. The expectation is that Meta will talk more publicly about it in early 2025, when it will confirm plans for the cable, including intended route, capacity, and some of the reasoning behind building it.-TechCrunch
Ranulf Scarborough, a submarine cable industry analyst, told the tech media outlet that cable ships are in extremely "tight supply" at the moment, adding that many of these vessels are usually booked several years ahead.
Sources explained that the planned 25,000-mile cable project is expected to track from the US East Coast to India via South Africa, then to the US West Coast from India via Australia, essentially making a giant "W" worldwide.
Sources pointed out that the "W" formation allows Meta to avoid "areas of geopolitical tension," such as areas in Middle Eastern waters where a cable sabotage incident was reported earlier this year (read here) and the most recent sabotage incident in the Baltics (read here).
For years, Meta has been part-owner of 16 existing undersea fiber networks. However, this new cable project would allow the big tech firm to have first dibs on capacity to support expanding traffic across its platforms in the era of AI.
More from TechCrunch, "Sources close to the project tell us that it's too soon to say whether AI is part of the equation for Meta in this project, describing it as part of the "long tail" of considerations and possibilities, along with whether Meta would open capacity to other users alongside itself."