The parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, Meta, has come up with an audio infrastructure installation of scales. It controls about 10% of fixed and 22% of mobile internet consumption and plans a new privately owned subsea cable that is going to span around the world.
Citing sources from TechCrunch, this grand plan of about 40,000 kilometers could cost Meta more than $10 billion. To top it all, this will be the first time that the company will own an entire strand of cable globally, making the company really “network”-dependent in profile and complementing its investments in extending applications.
Will Require Several Years
The subsea cable that Meta was proposing will be quite a considerable cost, still in its infancy, as it is starting with a budget of $2 billion, but projected to exceed $10 billion by the course of the multi-year effort.
Even if construction moves without a breakthrough, its full operationalization is at least years away. Specialized companies capable of building such infrastructures, like SubCom, are already booked with major clients such as Google, creating potential delays.
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TechCrunch’s sources confirmed the project’s existence, claiming it is in the planning stages but has not yet been built physically. They declined to discuss budgetary details. An announcement by Meta is expected in early 2025, which will probably divulge the cable route and capacity and the reasons for undertaking this huge infrastructure venture.
Areas the Cable Will Cover
It is worth noting that Meta’s future subsea cable intends to create a dedicated data pipeline to encircle the globe. The proposed route would form a “W” shape by linking the east coast of the US to India via South Africa, then continuing from India to the US west coast through Australia.
The Challenges
Ranulf Scarborough, an analyst for the submarine cable industry, lists the many hurdles that stand in the way of Meta’s project. “Cable ship availability is extremely tight. They’re very expensive and booked for years in advance,” adds Scarborough.
Building the needed infrastructure quickly is a serious challenge. Scarborough sees one solution in a stage-by-stage buildup in segments.
It is important to mention here that Meta has installed a very large undersea cable from Pakistan to the rest of the world; therefore, it is improving the connectivity of our country.