SAN FRANCISCO
Tech company Meta is set to build the world’s longest undersea cable, a 50,000-km (31,000-mile) project designed to enhance global internet connectivity, according to British media on Tuesday.
The cable, longer than Earth’s circumference, will link the US, India, South Africa, Brazil, and other regions, Sky News reported.
Named Project Waterworth, it will establish three major oceanic routes to support artificial intelligence and emerging technologies, Meta said in a blog post.
Subsea cables, which carry about 95% of global internet traffic, are considered the “backbone of the internet,” Sky News cited Global Digital Inclusion Partnership as saying.
However, access remains uneven, disproportionately affecting marginalized communities.
Meta has previously developed over 20 subsea cables, while rival Elon Musk is expanding internet access using low-orbit satellites, according to Sky News.
The ambitious project is expected to cost billions and take years to complete, Sky News reported.
Meta calls it its “most ambitious subsea cable endeavor yet.”
