Meta, the umbrella company for social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, is one of the most influential entities on the internet. Globally, it dictates 10% of all fixed and 22% of all mobile data traffic. The company’s continuous investment in artificial intelligence is expected to further boost their internet usage. To ensure a steady infrastructure to accommodate this growth, Meta is strategizing to control its own data pipelines.

According to well-placed sources, Meta intends to construct a massive, worldwide fibre-optic subsea cable. This ambitious project, spanning over 40,000 kilometers, is estimated to cost upwards of $10 billion. The novelty here is that Meta will solely own and operate this subsea cable, marking a significant milestone in its infrastructure development journey.

Sunil Tagare, a pioneer in the subsea cable industry, was the first to disclose Meta’s plans. He revealed that while the initial budget is set to $2 billion, costs could escalate up to $10 billion due to the lengthy timeline of the project.

Though the project is still in its nascent stage, with only plans in place and no physical assets, it is confirmed by sources close to Meta. More details, including the cable’s route, capacity, and motives behind its construction, are expected to be publicized in early 2025.

However, the successful completion of this project could take years due to the limited number of companies capable of building such infrastructure. Furthermore, these companies are often booked years in advance by large clients like Google.

Upon completion, this cable will offer Meta an exclusive data traffic channel worldwide. The cable is expected to form a “W” shape around the globe, stretching from the U.S.’s east coast to India via South Africa and then to the U.S.’s west coast from India via Australia.

Meta’s huge infrastructure project will be managed by Santosh Janardhan, the company’s head of global infrastructure and co-head of engineering. The project is currently being planned out of the company’s South Africa operation.

The uniqueness of this project lies not just in its scale, but also in the fact that a single tech giant is funding and owning it. Meta’s commitment to this project highlights the shift in subsea network investments and ownership from telecom consortiums to tech behemoths.

Meta already has a stake in the subsea cable industry, co-owning 16 existing networks. Yet, this project will be the first to be solely owned by Meta, positioning it alongside Google, Amazon, and Microsoft, who also invest heavily in subsea cables.

There are several advantages to owning subsea cables for tech giants like Meta. Ownership ensures priority in capacity to support traffic on its own platforms. Furthermore, it can guarantee service quality on international traffic, which is a significant revenue source for Meta.

However, there are also geopolitical considerations. Recent incidents have seen subsea cables damaged due to warfare. The planned route for Meta’s subsea cable is designed to avoid regions of geopolitical tension.

Lastly, there is speculation that Meta’s cable, terminating in India, could be part of a strategy to build data center capacity for AI model training. India offers cost-effective compute bandwidth, and with Meta’s significant user base in the country, this could be a strategic move.

While it’s too early to confirm if AI is part of Meta’s plan for this project, it’s clear that the company is making ambitious strides to secure its digital future.