Tech giant Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, has announced the Waterworth project, which aims to build a 50 000 km long undersea cable connecting the US, India, South Africa, Brazil, Australia and other regions, which the company says will be the world’s longest submarine cable project when completed and will provide an “industry-leading connection” between five major continents and help support the company’s artificial intelligence projects, on Monday, the 17th of February, reports the British broadcaster BBC.
“This project will foster greater economic cooperation, promote digital inclusion and open up opportunities for technological development in these regions,” Meta said in a blog post.
According to the company, this will be the longest 24 fibre-pair system cable to date, providing more capacity.
Submarine cables have become increasingly important as they enable the delivery of a wide range of digital services and fast data transmission around the world.
The BBC cites statistics indicating that more than 95% of the world’s internet traffic is transmitted over submarine cables.
TeleGeography, a market research company, states that there are currently more than 600 publicly known submarine cable systems in the world. This includes the 2Africa cable, which is backed by Meta and mobile operators such as Orange, Vodafone and China Mobile, which connects three continents and stretches 45 000km.
Large technology companies are now investing heavily in submarine cable infrastructure, which used to be the responsibility of state-owned telecoms companies, testifying to the growing influence of the tech giants.
Google, for example, announced a cable linking Africa and Australia in 2024, as well as a one-billion-dollar investment in two new cables in the Pacific to Japan.
As the importance of submarine cables grows, so do concerns about their vulnerability to attack or accidents. Several cables were damaged last year, leading experts to warn of rising geopolitical tensions and conflicts.
Following the damage to critical undersea cables last year, NATO launched a mission in January to step up surveillance of ships in the Baltic Sea.
Meanwhile, a UK parliamentary committee recently called for evidence on the country’s resilience to potential disruptions, highlighting concerns about “the ability of Russia and China to threaten underwater infrastructure, particularly in times of heightened tension or conflict”.
Meta said in a blog post that it would lay the cable system at depths of up to 7 000 metres and “use advanced submersion techniques in high-risk damage areas, such as shallow waters near the coast, to avoid damage from ship anchors and other hazards”.
Experts have pointed out that the project appears to deviate from established routes, for example by skipping Europe and China and avoiding geopolitical hotspots and connecting the US to major markets in the southern hemisphere could also be seen as “strengthening US economic and infrastructural power abroad”.