Meta, the tech giant behind Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, is set to invest more than $10 billion in building a 40,000-kilometer undersea fiber optic cable spanning the globe, according to close sources of the company.

The cable, Meta’s first to be exclusively owned and operated, aims to bolster its growing demands for data traffic fueled by billions of users and its growing interest in artificial intelligence.

The project would connect the United States, India, South Africa and Australia in a ‘W’-shaped route across the world, ensuring robust data pipelines. With the initiative still in the early planning stages, Meta plans to reveal details in 2025.

Experts note that challenges such as limited infrastructure resources could delay deployment. If completed, this groundbreaking project would strengthen Meta’s control over its global data infrastructure.

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