BBC News reports that Meta has announced a new project for the construction of the world’s largest undersea cable. It would span the entire globe.
Meta posted a blog in which it announced Project Waterworth. This is “a multi-billion dollar, multi-year investment that will strengthen the scale, reliability, and security of the digital highways around the globe by opening up three new oceanic corridors with abundant, high-speed connections needed to drive AI innovations throughout the world.”
The project involves the construction of a new cable undersea that will establish “industry-leading connectivity” between Australia, Brazil, South Africa, and India.
The blog post states, “This project will facilitate greater economic cooperation, digital inclusion, as well as open opportunities for technological developments in these regions.”
The BBC quoted Oxford Internet Institute Professor Vili Lehdonvirta as saying that, “over the last decade, these cables have been laid more by large technology companies” than in the past when national telecommunications firms funded their construction.
Lehdonvirta said, “This change could be significant for policymakers who are concerned about concentration in the digital market.”
Analyst Paolo Pescatore told the BBC, “Meta is a company that has a strong desire for more connectivity in the market.” He added that this “is another demonstration of its efforts to leapfrog competitors in providing users with a unique experience through tightly integrating software, hardware, platform and growing ambitions in connectivity.”
