The planned route of the cable will span from the east coast of the U.S. to India via South Africa, and then to the west coast of the U.S. from India via Australia. This move is seen as a strategic step by Meta to have more direct ownership of the infrastructure needed to deliver its services globally. It is also speculated that the cable could support Meta's AI initiatives in India, where the cost for compute bandwidth is significantly lower than in the U.S.
Key takeaways:
- Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, plans to build a new, major, fibre-optic subsea cable extending around the world, a project that could total more than $10 billion of investment.
- This will be the first subsea cable wholly owned by Meta, marking a significant milestone for the company's infrastructure efforts.
- The planned route of the cable spans from the east coast of the U.S. to India via South Africa, and then to the west coast of the U.S. from India via Australia, forming a 'W' shape around the globe.
- The project is still in its early stages, with plans laid out but physical assets not yet in place. Meta is expected to talk more publicly about it in early 2025.