Meta Announces Petabit-Capacity Transatlantic Subsea Cable Slated for 2029

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) on Monday announced the development of Petal, the first transoceanic subsea cable system designed to deliver petabit-level capacity. The cable, which will connect the United States and France, is expected to enter service in 2029 and marks a major investment in the global internet's core infrastructure.

Project Scope and Technology

The Petal system will span approximately 7,000 kilometers across the Atlantic. Its key innovation is the capacity to transmit 1 petabit per second (one million gigabits), which Meta described as the single largest generational increase in capacity for any transoceanic subsea cable system to date.

According to the announcement, Petal will carry twice the capacity of the current best-in-class transoceanic cables without a proportional increase in power or physical footprint. It will also be the first system to deploy multi-core fiber technology over a transoceanic distance. Meta is partnering with subsea cable specialist NEC and Sumitomo Electric Industries for the project, with French telecommunications firm Orange supporting the landing on France's Atlantic coast.

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Strategic Importance and Context

Subsea cables are the backbone of the modern internet, carrying an estimated 99% of all intercontinental data traffic. For a company like Meta, which operates massive data-intensive platforms, investing in this infrastructure is crucial for ensuring network performance, reliability, and capacity for future growth, particularly in areas like AI and immersive experiences.

This project continues Meta's strategy of being one of the world's largest investors in subsea cable infrastructure. The company has previously invested in more than 20 subsea cable projects, including the Project Waterworth initiative, deploying hundreds of thousands of kilometers of cable globally to support its services.