Meta to Build World’s Longest Subsea Fibre Cable - Project Waterworth

 

1. Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook) has announced the plan to build the world’s longest subsea fibre-optic cable, known as Project Waterworth.
2. This massive project will stretch over 50,000 kilometers, connecting 5  continents.
3. It is part of Meta’s growing investment in physical infrastructure to support its digital services.
    

Key Features of Project Waterworth:

 

 

1. The cable will connect five continents: the United States, India, Brazil, South Africa, and other key regions.
2. It will use 24-pair fibre-optic technology, which is the highest capacity available for data transfer today.
3. The cable’s faster data transfer will help promote economic cooperation between regions and bring more people online, especially in emerging markets.
4. 95% of intercontinental data traffic is carried by subsea cables, making them critical to global communication.
5. The cable will be laid at a depth of up to 7,000 meters (23,000 feet), which avoids common sea traffic and disturbances from shallow waters.
6. In areas like coastlines, special burial techniques will be used to protect the cable from damage in high-risk zones, such as those prone to earthquakes or extreme conditions.
7. This subsea cable will support Meta’s growing focus on artificial intelligence (AI) and help improve its AI-powered data centers and other technologies.
8. Meta plans to invest up to $65 billion in AI infrastructure this year alone, a larger sum than analysts had expected.
9. A part of this budget will go toward building a new platform to develop AI-powered humanoid robots.
10. The exact cost of the cable has not been disclosed, but reports suggest that Project Waterworth could cost around $2 billion.
11. The project is expected to take several years to complete, as it is a multi-billion-dollar investment.

Comparison to Other Cable Projects:
Meta had previously contributed to the construction of the 2Africa subsea cable launched in 2020, which currently holds the title of the longest subsea cable at 45,000 kilometers.

1. The 2 Africa cable connects 33 countries across Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia and is supported by major telecom companies such as Telecom Egypt, China Mobile, and Vodafone.
    

Is there any other Subsea Cable Projects which is Connecting India India is playing an active role in submarine cable resilience and security, which is crucial for global internet connectivity. India’s Undersea Cable Expansion New Cable Systems: India is also launching 2 new undersea cable systems: India Asia Xpress (IAX): Connects India (Chennai, Mumbai) with Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia. India Europe Xpress (IEX): Connects India (Chennai, Mumbai) with France, Greece, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Djibouti. Cable Length: Over 15,000 km collectively. Ownership: Both cables are owned by Reliance Jio. Importance of Cable Resilience and Security India’s focus on submarine cable security is increasing due to threats of physical damage and cyberattacks. India is involved in the International Advisory Body for Submarine Cable Resilience (IABSR), aiming to strengthen the resilience of submarine cables globally. Impact of Submarine Cable Disruptions In March, three submarine cables were disrupted, affecting traffic to India. Despite disruptions, alternative routes and Indian data centers helped maintain internet services. Bangladesh Connectivity Issue Bangladesh halted plans to sell bandwidth to Northeast India, but this has limited impact because Northeast India is already connected via fiber on Power Grid transmission lines. Over half of Bangladesh’s internet traffic comes from India. Vulnerability of Choke Points A key vulnerability is the Malacca Strait, a critical route for undersea cables between India and Singapore. Disruptions here could impact multiple cables. India is exploring alternative routes to bypass the Malacca Strait but has no current solution.

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