Meta to Connect Five Continents with Undersea Cable Network

ARK News.. U.S. tech giant Meta (parent company of Facebook and Instagram) has announced plans to deploy an undersea cable spanning over 50,000 kilometers, connecting five continents to enhance the speed and reliability of global digital data transmission.

According to France Press Agency (AFP), Meta described this initiative—dubbed the “Water world Project”—as its most ambitious submarine cable project to date. The company stated in an official memo that the network is expected to provide advanced connectivity for the United States, India, Brazil, South Africa, and other regions.

Meta emphasized that this is a multi-year, multibillion-dollar investment aimed at strengthening global digital infrastructure.

Undersea cables play a critical role in global communication, forming the backbone of nearly all international digital transmissions. According to a report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) published in August 2024, around 450 undersea cables are currently in operation worldwide, covering approximately 1.2 million kilometers.

While four major companies—SubCom (U.S.), Alcatel Submarine Networks (France), Nippon Electric Company (Japan), and HMN Technologies (China)—dominated the market as of 2021, tech giants like Meta are now building their own infrastructure to meet the growing demands of digital connectivity.

These submarine networks are of strategic importance but remain vulnerable to natural disasters—such as underwater landslides and tsunamis—as well as human-related incidents, including anchor damage, sabotage, and espionage.

With the rapid rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI models, which require massive data resources, global digital traffic is expected to continue increasing significantly in the coming years.

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