Social media giant Meta plans to lay down its own private undersea fiber optic internet cable that will extend around the world, according to a new report.
Early next year, Meta — the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp — is expected to announce the plan to lay over 25,000 miles of fiber optic cables under the sea, which could cost more than $10 billion, sources close to the company told TechCrunch.
The cables would be solely owned and used by Meta, the second-biggest driver of internet usage globally, including accounting for 22% of all mobile traffic, according to the outlet.
The route for the cables would potentially span from the East Coast of the US to India via South Africa — then from India via Australia to the US’ West Coast, according to the report.
Experts say that the company has a long list of checkpoints to hit before enacting these grand plans, including finding companies who will lay the cable.
“There’s a real tight supply on cable ships,” Ranulf Scarborough, a submarine cable industry analyst, told TechCrunch.
“They’re expensive at the minute and booked out several years ahead. Finding the available resources to do it soon is a challenge,” he added.
If completed, the circuit would become the first privately owned and operated global fiber optic cable project.
Google, Amazon, Microsoft and other Big Tech companies all own parts of other global cable systems — but none own their private line outright, according to TechCrunch.
Experts say there are several motivating factors for Meta to make such a major investment in infrastructure.
The company would be able to privately support its broad internet traffic on its own properties, reducing its reliance on telecommunications companies which in other ways have already been left in the technological lurch with the dawning of the internet age.
Experts also say that Meta is motivated to inculcate itself from geopolitical strife, which has resulted in collateral and direct damage to subsea cables.
Just last week, a cable was cut in European waters, with the nation of Sweden calling on China to cooperate in an investigation that eyes a ship controlled by the Communist nation, according to the Associated Press.
The route planned by the company is intended to “avoid areas of geopolitical tension,” a source close to the company told TechCrunch.
Back in May, US national security officials warned Meta, Google, and other firms that undersea internet cables could be at risk of tampering by China-controlled ships.
The FCC announced earlier this month that it will launch its first comprehensive review of submarine cable licensing rules in decades, looking to modernize the rules and ensure the security of the vital infrastructure.
Meta’s project is still in the very early stages of development and will take years of planning, according to the report.
