Meta has announced Project Waterworth, which the American company calls its most ambitious subsea cable endeavour. Once completed, the cable, using the highest-capacity technology available, is set to become the world's longest, spanning over 50,000 km—longer than the Earth's circumference. This project will connect five major continents, including the US, India, Brazil, and South Africa, the company said on Friday, February 14, 2025.
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Meta's Waterworth Subsea Cable Project
Meta highlighted that this project will enable greater economic cooperation, facilitate digital inclusion, and open opportunities for technological development in these regions. "For example, in India, where we've already seen significant growth and investment in digital infrastructure, Waterworth will help accelerate this progress and support the country's ambitious plans for its digital economy," it said.
Role of Subsea Cables
According to Global Digital Inclusion Partnership, subsea cables handle over 95 percent of intercontinental internet traffic, enabling seamless communication, online transactions, and AI-driven applications. According to the website, the Global Digital Inclusion Partnership is a coalition of public, private, and civil society organisations working to bring internet connectivity to the global majority and ensure everyone is meaningfully connected by 2030.
"Project Waterworth will be a multi-billion dollar, multi-year investment to strengthen the scale and reliability of the world's digital highways by opening three new oceanic corridors with the abundant, high-speed connectivity needed to drive AI innovation around the world," Meta said.
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Project Waterworth
According to the statement, Meta has developed over 20 subsea cables over the past decade in collaboration with various partners. The Waterworth subsea cable will be a 24-fiber pair system, compared to the standard 8–16 fiber pairs of other new systems.
"With Project Waterworth, we continue to advance engineering design to maintain cable resilience, enabling us to build the longest 24 fiber pair cable project in the world and enhance overall speed of deployment," Meta said, adding, "We are also deploying first-of-its-kind routing, maximizing 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, 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," Meta elucidated.
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Investment in AI Infrastructure
This announcement follows India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi's two-day visit to the United States to meet US President Donald Trump. In late January 2025, Meta unveiled its roadmap for AI in 2025, where the company announced increased investment in AI infrastructure, with plans to allocate USD 60–65 billion in capital expenditures (CapEx) to enhance its AI initiatives in 2025. Read more about it from the story linked.
India-US Support for Indian Ocean Connectivity
In a joint statement earlier this week, both India and the US welcomed Meta's announcement supporting greater Indian Ocean connectivity. The leaders of both countries committed to deepening bilateral dialogue and cooperation across the Indian Ocean region and launched the Indian Ocean Strategic Venture, a new bilateral, whole-of-government forum to advance coordinated investments in economic connectivity and commerce.
"Supporting greater Indian Ocean connectivity, the leaders also welcomed Meta's announcement of a multi-billion, multi-year investment in an undersea cable project that will begin work this year and ultimately stretch over 50,000 km to connect five continents and strengthen global digital highways in the Indian Ocean region and beyond. India intends to invest in maintenance, repair and financing of undersea cables in the Indian Ocean, using trusted vendors," the statement from the White House and India's Prime Minister's Office read.
