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Meta wants to build a $10 billion subsea cable around the world: Report

Meta, the company that owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp is reportedly planning to lay an undersea internet cable that will span across the entire planet.

Meta already owns parts of some subsea cables. (Image Source: Meta)

Meta, the Mark Zuckerberg-owned company that owns FaceBook, Instagram and WhatsApp is reportedly planning to build a subsea cable that spans across the world. While this may sound a bit too much, the company accounts for almost 10 per cent of fixed and 22 per cent of mobile internet traffic worldwide.

According to a recent report by TechCrunch citing sources close to the company, Meta is currently planning to lay a fibre-optic cable that will have a length of more than 40,000 km. Initially, Meta will invest around $2 billion, but as the project progresses, the final cost will go up to somewhere around $10 billion, which is not much for a company of this size.

The publication also said that the project plans have been laid out, but the sources declined to comment on the budget. The company is expected to share more information like the intended route, capacity and the reason behind the project sometime in early 2025.

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However, it would take a few years before the cable is fully functional. In a statement to TechCrunch, a submarine cable industry analyst Ranulf Scarborough said that cable ships are “expensive at the minute and booked out several years ahead.”

If and when the plan comes to fruition, the undersea cable would give Meta a dedicated route for sending and receiving data around the world. As it turns out, Meta’s undersea cable may span from the east coast of the United States to India vs South Africa and then head back to the west coast of the United States via Australia.

In case you are unaware, this is not the first time Meta is investing in undersea communication cables. The company is reportedly already a part owner of 16 networks, which includes the new 2Africa cable.

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internet
META

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