Meta (Facebook) is reported to be planning to build a super long undersea cable that the company will fully own.
Meta’s subsea cable project is estimated to cost $10 billion. That’s about 38% of Zimbabwe’s annual GDP, for context.
The planned fiber-optic cable will span over 40,000 kilometers globally.
The current largest undersea cable is the 2Africa cable, which spans about 45,000 kilometers and connects 46 locations in Africa, Europe, and Asia.
The cable’s route is designed to avoid geopolitical hotspots, including areas like the Red Sea and South China Sea, known for cable sabotage.
The cable will follow a “W” route, connecting the U.S. East Coast to India via South Africa and returning to the U.S. West Coast through Australia. Hence why some are calling it the W.
Meta is invested in a number of undersea cables today. However, unlike its existing partnerships in 16 networks, this new cable will be fully owned by Meta, allowing the company to prioritize its own services.
I guess countries like Zimbabwe where the likes of WhatsApp and Facebook have become massive commerce platforms will celebrate cables that prioritise those services.
Unlike Meta’s project, 2Africa which we talked about above is a consortium effort involving companies like China Mobile, Orange, and Vodafone. There’s no preferential treatment for Facebook there.
The W project is in early stages and is expected to take 5-10 years to complete, with more details to be revealed in early 2025.
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