Meta has announced plans to build a 50,000 km (31,000 mile) undersea cable around the world.
The tech giant stated that Project Waterworth, which will connect the US, India, South Africa, Brazil, and other regions, will be the world's longest underwater cable project once completed.
Meta, the owner of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, aims to expand its technology presence beyond social media, including artificial intelligence (AI) and the infrastructure supporting it.
The company said its new cable project would offer "industry-leading connectivity" to five major continents and support its AI projects. "This project will enable greater economic cooperation, promote digital inclusion, and create opportunities for technological development in these regions," Meta mentioned in a blog post.
The cable will be the longest to date using a 24 fiber-pair system, providing higher capacity, according to the company.
Undersea cables have become increasingly important as they power various digital services and enable fast data transfer worldwide.
One commonly cited statistic suggests that more than 95% of the world's internet traffic is transmitted through undersea cables.
Telecommunications market research firm TeleGeography reports that there are currently over 600 publicly known sub-sea cable systems worldwide.
This includes the 2Africa cable, supported by Meta and mobile network operators like Orange, Vodafone, and China Mobile, which connects three continents and stretches 45,000km.
Tech firms have taken a larger role in cable infrastructure. Companies that provide major web services have invested heavily in this area.
Google announced that in 2024 it would build the first sub-sea cable linking Africa and Australia, and it also revealed a $1 billion investment to enhance connectivity to Japan with two new sub-sea cables in the Pacific Ocean.
"Over the past decade, there has been a shift where these cables are increasingly laid by large technology companies," Professor Vili Lehdonvirta of the Oxford Internet Institute told the BBC.
He noted that this contrasts with the past when underwater cables were laid and funded by large groups of national telecom firms due to their significant investment requirements.
Prof. Lehdonvirta said this shows the growing size and influence of big tech firms, allowing them to fund such infrastructure on their own. This "may be significant to policymakers concerned with concentration in digital markets."
Telecoms and technology industry analyst Paolo Pescatore said it highlights Meta's ambitions.
"Meta has shown a strong desire to control more of the connectivity market," he told the BBC.
"This is further proof as it aims to surpass rivals by providing users with a unique experience through the tight integration of hardware, software, platforms, and its expanding goals in connectivity," he added.
Protecting Against Threats
The increasing importance of sub-sea cables has raised concerns about their vulnerability to attacks or accidents.
After a series of cable cuts, experts have noted that undersea communications infrastructure is becoming a focal point for geopolitical tensions and conflict.
NATO launched a mission in January to increase surveillance of ships in the Baltic Sea following damage to critical undersea cables last year.