Meta has unveiled a new project to build the world's longest undersea cable that would stretch all the way across the globe, BBC News reports.
In a blog post, Meta announced Project Waterworth, "a multibillion-dollar, multiyear investment to strengthen the scale and reliability of the world's digital highways by opening three new oceanic corridors with the abundant, high-speed connectivity needed to drive AI innovation around the world."
The project involves building a new undersea cable that would establish "industry-leading connectivity" between the United States, Brazil, South Africa, India, and Australia.
"This project will enable greater economic cooperation, facilitate digital inclusion, and open opportunities for technological development in these regions," the blog post read.
Oxford Internet Institute's professor Vili Lehdonvirta told the BBC in a statement that "over the past decade, there has been a shift in which these cables are increasingly laid by large technology companies," unlike in the past, when national telecommunications companies financed their construction.
Lehdonvirta added that this change "may be significant to policymakers concerned with concentration in digital markets."
Paolo Pescatore, a telecommunications and technology industry analyst, told the BBC that "Meta has shown a strong desire to own more of the connectivity slice" of the market, adding that this move "is a further demonstration as it seeks to leapfrog rivals in providing users with a unique experience by tightly integrating hardware, software, platform, and its growing aspirations in connectivity."