Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, has announced ambitious plans to build the world’s longest underwater cable.

Its so-called ‘Project Waterworth’ would see the creation of a 50,000km (31,000 mile) cable to connect the USA, India, South Africa and Brazil – among others – to provide “industry-leading connectivity” and help the company deliver on its AI ambitions.

The technology is nothing new, of course. It’s thought that more than 95% of the world’s internet traffic today transferred through undersea cables, of which there are more than 600 publicly known systems in operation.

One already stretches for 45,000km, linking the Middle East, Africa and Europe.

The latest offering from Meta would go a little further, though, and do so with a 24 fibre-pair system that offers higher capacities.

Its announcement comes off the back of rival Google’s pledge last year to build the first sub-sea cable connecting Africa and Australia – as well as a promise to invest $1bn into the building of two new sub-sea cables in the Pacific Ocean, boosting connectivity to Japan.

Whilst these developments offer improvements in global connectivity, they also play a part in geopolitics, with some critical cables being severed just last year – actions attributed at the time to Russia but which it denied.

In response, Nato launched a mission to protect undersea cables in early 2025, using patrol aircraft, warships and drones. However, the specific number of assets taking part in the ‘Baltic Sentry initiative’ was kept purposefully vague and changed regularly, to keep enemies guessing.

To combat any risks (both political and geological) to its building project, Meta said it will use “enhanced burial techniques”, with cable laid at a depth of up to 7,000 metres.

Announcing Project Waterworth, Meta claimed it would be a “a multi-billion dollar, multi-year investment” designed to strengthen the scale and reliability of the world’s digital highways. It would open “three new oceanic corridors with the abundant, high speed connectivity needed to drive AI innovation around the world.”