Meta floats project to lay first petabit submarine fiberoptic cable
Petabit submarine cable. Meta's new transatlantic fiber will more than double today's fastest transoceanic capacity—and reshape AI compute distribution.
Why it matters
Meta is building critical AI infrastructure at the edge of the network. A 7,000 km petabit cable connecting US and France signals the scale of data movement required to support distributed AI workloads and edge deployments—and raises geopolitical questions lawmakers are already pressing.
The key facts
7 to knowPetal cable: 7,000 km US–France connection
Capacity: >1 petabit/s (more than double current fastest transoceanic cables)
Comparative: AWS 320 Tbit/s US–Ireland; Australia–US 400 Tbit/s cables announced
Partners: NEC, Sumitomo Electric Industries, Orange (landing coordination)
Drivers: boom in subsea cable deployment tied to AI data connectivity needs
Risk flag: US lawmakers raising security concerns about subsea cable inventory and foreign access
Historical context: subsea cable incidents documented; security implications warrant tracking
Go to the source
Computerworldcomputerworld.com
Publisher excerpt: The 7,000 km (4,350 mile) cable, called Petal, will connect the US and France. Meta is partnering with NEC and Sumitomo Electric Industries to build it, and working with French telecommunications company Orange to coordinate the landing of the cable on the French coast. Petal will have more than…