Meta just announced an ambitious new undersea internet cable project that spans over 50,000 km to connect North and South America, Africa, Asia, and Australia. The Facebook parent company is part-owner of several undersea communications cables, but this new plan, called Project Waterworth, will apparently be the first that it will solely own and operate. Meta says it will be the longest cable deployed so far and will likely cost the company over $10 billion.
The areas that Project Waterworth will connect, namely the U.S. East Coast, Brazil, South Africa, India, Australia, and then back to the U.S. West Coast, are already connected to the rest of the world via several other underwater cables. However, if Meta’s map is accurate, this project will be the first one that will directly connect Brazil to South Africa. It will also be the only one connecting India to Australia while bypassing the Strait of Malacca.
“This project will enable greater economic cooperation, facilitate digital inclusion, and open opportunities for technological development in these regions,” says the company. “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.”
However, sources also say that the social media giant is building this project so that it will have its own physical infrastructure that avoids global geopolitical hotspots. During the past few months, there have been several incidences of undersea cables, including those used for communications and electrical transmission, reportedly being cut by civilian cargo ships with connections to Russia and China. Project Waterworth’s routing seems to specifically avoid areas where there’s a higher chance of disruption, including near Europe and the South China Sea.
Project Waterworth will supposedly deploy a more resilient cabling technology to help it withstand the usual wear-and-tear better. However, Meta will also lay the cable in deep water, sometimes at depths of around 23,000 feet, to make it harder to reach and sabotage. It also said that it will use “enhanced burial techniques in high-risk fault areas, such as waters near the coast, to avoid damage from ship anchors and other hazards.”