Meta says it is unlocking global AI potential with next-generation subsea infrastructure.

Meta last week announced what it termed its most ambitious subsea cable endeavor yet: Project Waterworth.

Gaya Nagarajan, Meta’s vice president, Network Engineering and Alex-Handrah Aimé, global head, Network Investments made the announcement saying, once complete, the project will reach five major continents and span over 50,000 km (longer than the Earth’s circumference).

According to the two executives, Project Waterworth will be the world's longest subsea cable project, using the most advanced technology.

They expect Project Waterworth to provide "industry-leading" connectivity to the United States, India, Brazil, South Africa, and other critical locations.

“This project will enable greater economic cooperation, facilitate digital inclusion, and open opportunities for technological development in these regions. For example, in India, where we’ve already seen significant growth and investment in digital infrastructure, Waterworth will help accelerate this progress and support the country’s ambitious plans for its digital economy,” the two wrote on a Meta blog.

They continued: “Subsea cables projects, such as Project Waterworth, are the backbone of global digital infrastructure, accounting for more than 95% of intercontinental traffic across the world’s oceans to seamlessly enable digital communication, video experiences, online transactions, and more.

“Project Waterworth will be a multi-billion dollar, multi-year investment to strengthen the scale and reliability of the world’s digital highways by opening three new oceanic corridors with the abundant, high speed connectivity needed to drive AI innovation around the world.”

Furthermore, they said: “With Project Waterworth, we continue to advance engineering design to maintain cable resilience, enabling us to build the longest 24 fiber pair cable project in the world and enhance overall speed of deployment.

“We are also deploying first-of-its-kind routing, maximizing the cable laid in deep water — at depths up to 7,000 meters — and using enhanced burial techniques in high-risk fault areas, such as shallow waters near the coast, to avoid damage from ship anchors and other hazards.”