Rivaling Google, Meta plans $10 billion worldwide subsea cable project
Meta, the tech giant behind Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, is said to be planning a major infrastructure project. The company wants to build a fiber-optic subsea cable spanning over 40,000km across the globe, reported TechCrunch. The ambitious project would cost more than $10 billion (roughly ₹75,000 crore), marking a major milestone for Meta's infrastructure initiatives.
Meta's subsea cable project: A 1st in company's history
The proposed subsea cable will be fully owned and operated by Meta, a first for the company. Sunil Tagare, a subsea cable sector pioneer and founder of Flag Telecom, first reported this plan in October. He told TechCrunch that while the project could begin with a $2 billion (roughly ₹15,000 crore) budget, it could eventually go beyond $10 billion as work continues for years.
Project in early stages, full operation years away
Sources close to Meta have confirmed the existence of the project but clarified that it is still in its initial stages, per TechCrunch. No physical assets have been deployed yet, and the budget details remain undisclosed. The company is expected to share more information about this initiative in early 2025, including its planned route, capacity, and rationale behind its construction.
Resource constraints could affect Meta's subsea cable project
The full operation of Meta's subsea cable could take years due to resource constraints. There are only a handful of companies such as SubCom that can build such infrastructure, and they are already tied to large clients like Google. "There's a real tight supply on cable ships," said Ranulf Scarborough, a submarine cable industry analyst. "They're expensive at the minute and booked out several years ahead."
Dedicated data traffic pipe: A global network
Once completed, the subsea cable will give Meta a dedicated network for global data traffic. The proposed route currently stretches from the US's east coast to India via South Africa, and then back to the US's west coast from India via Australia. This creates a "W" shape around the globe, as visualized by Tagare.
Iinfrastructure efforts led by Santosh Janardhan
Santosh Janardhan, Meta's head of global infrastructure and co-head of engineering, is leading the company's infrastructure efforts. The forthcoming project is being planned out of the company's South Africa operation. This move represents a major shift in investment and ownership of subsea networks from telecom carriers to tech giants like Meta.
A strategic move by Meta
Meta's proposed subsea cable project is strategically significant. The company already co-owns 16 existing networks, including the 2Africa cable that encircles Africa. However, this new initiative will be the first to be wholly owned by Meta itself, putting it in a similar category as Google. The project underscores a trend where tech giants are seeking more direct control over the infrastructure needed to deliver their services globally.
