Meta plans to build the longest underwater internet cable, it will be 50,000 kilometers and will connect the continents  

Meta has announced plans to build a 50,000 kilometer long submarine cable around the world.

The tech giant said the Waterworth Project - connecting the US, India, South Africa, Brazil and other regions - will be the world's longest undersea cable project when completed, the Telegraph reports.

Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, has sought to expand its presence in technology beyond social media, including artificial intelligence (AI) and the infrastructure that supports it.

It said its new cable project will provide "industry-leading connectivity" across five major continents, and will help support its AI projects.

"This project will enable greater economic cooperation, facilitate digital inclusion, and open up opportunities for technological development in these regions," Meta said in a blog post.

The cable would be the longest to date that uses a 24-pair fiber system, giving it a higher capacity.

Undersea cables have become increasingly important, as they provide the means to power a range of digital services and transfer data around the world at high speed.

A regularly cited statistic suggests that more than 95 percent of the world's internet traffic is transferred via undersea cables.

Telecommunications market research firm TeleGeography says there are currently more than 600 publicly known submarine cable systems around the world.

This includes the 2Africa cable, supported by Meta and mobile network operators such as Orange, Vodafone and China Mobile, which connects three continents and spans 45,000 kilometers.

And the technology firms that serve as the main internet service providers have invested huge sums in cable infrastructure.

Google said in 2024 that it would build the first undersea cable connecting Africa and Australia, and announced a $1 billion investment to boost connectivity to Japan with two new undersea cables in the Pacific Ocean.

Telecommunications and technology analyst Paolo Pescatore told the BBC that Meta "has shown a strong desire to own more of the connectivity side."

The increasing importance of underwater cables has raised concerns about their vulnerability to attacks or accidents.

After a series of severed cables, experts have said that underwater communications infrastructure is a growing arena for geopolitical tensions and conflicts.

NATO launched a mission in January to increase surveillance of ships in the Baltic Sea, following damage to critical undersea cables last year.

Meta said in its blog post announcing the Waterworth Project that it would deploy its cable system up to 7,000 meters deep, and would “use enhanced positioning techniques in high-risk areas, such as shallow waters near the coast, to avoid damage from ship anchors and other hazards.” /Telegraph/