Meta has announced Project Waterworth, an unprecedented subsea cable infrastructure initiative intended to reshape global connectivity.
When complete, the network will span more than 50,000 kilometres—longer than the circumference of the Earth—making it the largest subsea cable deployment ever undertaken.
The plan is to connect multiple continents, including North America, South America, Asia and Africa, creating new digital corridors that aim to foster economic cooperation, expand digital inclusion and catalyse technological development in connected regions.
India is highlighted as a key beneficiary, where enhanced international bandwidth and lower-latency links could accelerate the country’s digital economy ambitions and support a rapidly expanding online population.
Subsea cables: The backbone of global connectivity
Subsea cables carry over 95% of intercontinental internet traffic and form the physical backbone of today’s global digital infrastructure. They enable real-time communication, high-quality video streaming, international commerce and cloud services. Their strategic importance also makes them increasingly attractive targets for disruption.
Project Waterworth represents a multi-billion dollar commitment over several years. Meta intends to establish three new trans-oceanic corridors to increase global capacity and deliver the abundant, high-speed connectivity required to support the next generation of digital services, including advanced AI applications.
Meta continues to pioneer subsea cable advancements
This project builds on Meta’s decade-long participation in subsea cable development. The company has contributed to the construction of more than 20 subsea systems in partnership with industry collaborators, incorporating innovations that exceed previous industry norms.
Earlier deployments introduced cables with up to 24 fibre pairs, well above the traditional 8–16 pairs, providing significantly greater capacity to meet growing global demand. Project Waterworth will push engineering further by introducing novel design features that improve resilience across an exceptionally long route.
To reduce exposure to coastal hazards and human activity, much of the routing will favour deep-water paths, with cables laid at depths reaching 7,000 metres where feasible. In areas with elevated risk, enhanced burial methods and reinforced protection will be used to extend service life and minimise disruptions from anchors, fishing gear and other threats.
Supporting the AI revolution
As reliance on artificial intelligence and data-intensive services grows, demand for robust, high-capacity global connectivity is rising. Meta frames Project Waterworth as critical infrastructure to support AI-driven innovation by providing global reach, scalable bandwidth and lower latency for data flows across continents.
The company says its goal is to ensure the benefits of emerging technologies are more widely accessible, regardless of geography. By closing connectivity gaps, the project could enable broader participation in the digital economy and expand access to educational, employment and innovation opportunities—particularly in developing regions.
As billions of users increasingly depend on cloud services, real-time applications and AI-driven tools, large-scale subsea investments like Project Waterworth will be essential to maintain performance, scalability and inclusivity across the global internet.
(Photo by Javier Miranda)
See also: Ericsson, Telstra, and Qualcomm shatter 5G uplink speed record
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