Meta是社交媒体平台和即时通讯软件Facebook、Instagram和WhatsApp的母公司。①According to insiders, Meta's global submarine communication cable may exceed 0.04 million kilometers in total length; ②Preliminary plans start from the east coast of the usa, passing through South Africa, India, Australia, and returning to the west coast of the usa; ③The movements of technology giants like Meta and Google demonstrate the increasing demand of multinational internet platforms for controlling network infrastructure.
The latest news on Friday shows that, as a super user of global internet traffic, the usa technology giant $Meta Platforms (META.US)$ is planning to build a global undersea communications cable, which will be a transmission channel exclusive to publicly traded companies.
According to TechCrunch, which cited sources close to the company, Meta's submarine cable plan may have a total length exceeding 0.04 million kilometers, with a total investment likely to exceed 10 billion US dollars.
Meta is the parent company of social media platform and instant messaging software Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Meta, with a billion-level user base, consumes 10% of the global fixed broadband and 22% of mobile communication traffic. Therefore, building ultra-large internet infrastructure is also a guarantee for its core business.
The cable will be in a 'W' shape spanning the globe and the construction period will span several years.
As per preliminary plans, Meta's submarine cable network will depart from the east coast of the usa, passing through South Africa to reach Mumbai in India, then around to Chennai in India, further connecting Australia and the west coast of the usa. On a familiar world map, it resembles a large 'W' shape.
Sources closely related to Meta have confirmed the existence of this project, but indicate that the plan is still in its early stages. It is expected that the company will discuss this matter more openly at the beginning of 2025, including the plan itself, the proposed routes, capacity, etc.
Sunil Tagare, the founder of the submarine fiber optic expert Flag Telecom, also revealed to the media that the initial budget for the project will be 2 billion US dollars, and as the project progresses, it will increase to over 10 billion US dollars.
Industry insiders also point out that due to the limited number of companies worldwide capable of building such infrastructure (SubCom), and with big enterprises like Google already booking time slots, Meta's global cable network is expected to take several more years to become operational.
Submarine cable industry analyst Ranulf Scarborough stated that currently the supply of cable ships is very tight and expensive, requiring bookings years in advance. Finding available resources promptly will be a challenge, and one possible solution is segmented construction.
Why does Meta want to build its own exclusive network?
Meta's plans also indicate a shift in global underwater network investments – from large telecommunications consortiums to the participation of super internet giants.
It should be noted that meta platforms is not a newcomer in the submarine network field, as the company is already a partial owner of 16 existing networks, with the most recent project being the 2Africa submarine cable that circles the African continent, in partnership with telecommunications giants.$Vodafone (VOD.US)$、$CHINA MOBILE (00941.HK)$and Orange, etc.
However, this rumored new project is the first global undersea network that meta platforms fully masters. $Alphabet-C (GOOG.US)$ Previously, only held some regional underwater networks with 100% control.$Amazon (AMZN.US)$、$Microsoft (MSFT.US)$They are merely partners in a few projects, or simply buyers of network capacity.
TechCrunch believes there are at least three reasons supporting Meta's initiative to establish a global underwater communication network on its own.
Firstly, the immensely wealthy internet giants hope to use their financial capabilities to ensure full ownership of the cables their critical operations depend on for security and sustainability.
Meta has stated in its financial report that the company earns more money outside of North America than in the domestic market. Therefore, prioritizing the use of dedicated submarine cables can help ensure the service quality of these networks. It is important to note that submarine networks can only ensure the flow of long-distance data transmission, but the delivery of the "last mile" service to users still relies on local telecommunications operators.
The second point is about the geopolitical situation. Insiders revealed that when Meta envisioned the global layout of submarine networks, it aimed to avoid areas of global geopolitical tension.
The third point is very interesting - related to india.
Sunil Tagare interprets that meta platforms has the capability to directly build datacenters in india specifically for training and processing ai models, while submarine cables may play a role in this effort. Tagare points out that the cost of computing bandwidth in india is only a small fraction of the usa.$NVIDIA (NVDA.US)$CEO Jensen Huang's visit to india has also attracted significant market attention.
Insiders close to the company have stated that it is too early to determine whether artificial intelligence will be part of this global network project.
Editor/Rocky
