The internet doesn’t run on satellites or Wi-Fi alone, it runs through a web of undersea cables stretching across the ocean floor. 99% of global internet traffic – your DMs, video calls, cat memes zips through fiber optic cables laid across ocean floors. For decades, telecom giants and governments have been the gatekeepers of these digital highways. Now, Meta is betting $10 billion on Project Watersworth, its own 50,000-kilometer private undersea cable system connecting five continents; all to bypass middlemen, avoid geopolitical risks, and future-proof its empire in the age of AI. It’s not just about faster internet speeds. It’s about control, cost, and cutting-edge data demands. But why this specific route? Why skip entire regions? The answers reveal a high-stakes game of bandwidth, AI dominance, and geopolitical survival. 50,000-kilometer private undersea cable system The Bandwidth Bottleneck: Paying the Toll Imagine the internet as a global highway system. 99% of all internet traffic travels via these subsea fibers. Giants like AT&T built empires on them; governments treat them as strategic assets. Every second, they carry petabytes of data – that's millions of gigabytes, equivalent to over 200 million iPhone photos flashing by in a blink. Meta, responsible for a staggering 10% of global fixed internet traffic and 22% of mobile traffic (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp), is utterly dependent on renting space on these cables. Every post, ad, and video call competes for bandwidth controlled by others. The toll? Estimates suggest Meta pays tens, potentially hundreds, of millions of dollars annually just to keep its apps running. Worse, they're at the mercy of the cable owners for priority and reliability. A mere few-hour Facebook outage recently cost Meta $100 million in lost ad revenue. Renting bandwidth isn't just expensive; it's a vulnerability. Watersworth is Meta's answer: an express lane where its traffic gets top priority, no middlemen, no buffering, potentially fewer outage nightmares. Following the Tech Giants' Playbook (But Playing Catch-Up) Meta isn't pioneering this strategy; it's catching up in an undersea land grab: Google: The clear leader, owning or co-owning about a dozen cables since 2008 (e.g., US-France, Portugal-South Africa). Amazon & Microsoft: Both have sprawling webs of their own cables across global ocean floors. Google: The clear leader, owning or co-owning about a dozen cables since 2008 (e.g., US-France, Portugal-South Africa). Google: Amazon & Microsoft: Both have sprawling webs of their own cables across global ocean floors. Amazon & Microsoft: The motivation is universal: control over data destiny. Owning the pipe guarantees capacity, speed, and resilience critical for their services. However, ownership comes with burdens. Every cable break (often costing millions to repair), slowdown, or maintenance headache falls squarely on Meta. They also still need local ISPs to provide the "on-ramps" connecting users to their private highway. It's a complex trade-off, but for Meta, whose apps are the attention economy, the control over user experience is paramount. control over data destiny millions to repair are The Watersworth Route: A Geopolitical Minefield Avoided The Watersworth Route: A Geopolitical Minefield Avoided Look at Watersworth's planned landing points: USA -> Brazil -> South Africa -> India -> Australia -> USA. Notice the omissions? It conspicuously avoids: USA -> Brazil -> South Africa -> India -> Australia -> USA. The Red Sea: Where three major cables were severed last year (officially by an anchor, unofficially suspected sabotage), crippling Europe-Asia traffic. The South China Sea & Taiwan Strait: A recent incident involved a Chinese vessel near Taiwan right after a cable cut – a recurring problem for Taiwan (dozens of cuts in recent years). China even holds patents for anchored cable-snipping technology, described as for "emergencies" but viewed by NATO as "gray zone warfare." The Red Sea: Where three major cables were severed last year (officially by an anchor, unofficially suspected sabotage), crippling Europe-Asia traffic. The Red Sea: The South China Sea & Taiwan Strait: A recent incident involved a Chinese vessel near Taiwan right after a cable cut – a recurring problem for Taiwan (dozens of cuts in recent years). China even holds patents for anchored cable-snipping technology, described as for "emergencies" but viewed by NATO as "gray zone warfare." The South China Sea & Taiwan Strait: Undersea cables aren't just infrastructure; they're strategic weapons, targets, and bargaining chips. Undersea cables aren't just infrastructure; they're strategic weapons, targets, and bargaining chips. Russia has reportedly sent subs to "inspect" cables since 2014. The US now considers cables a national security infrastructure. A US Admiral warned they could be the "first shot fired" in future conflicts. The Pentagon runs war games on cable sabotage and deploys drones to monitor them. The US government blocked the Facebook/Google Pacific Light Cable to Hong Kong in 2020 over fears of Chinese access. Russia has reportedly sent subs to "inspect" cables since 2014. Russia The US now considers cables a national security infrastructure. A US Admiral warned they could be the "first shot fired" in future conflicts. The Pentagon runs war games on cable sabotage and deploys drones to monitor them. The US The US government blocked the Facebook/Google Pacific Light Cable to Hong Kong in 2020 over fears of Chinese access. Meta's chosen route isn't random geography; it's a carefully calculated dodge of geopolitical flashpoints. Watersworth aims to be resilient by steering clear of waters where cables "mysteriously" break. dodge of geopolitical flashpoints The AI Imperative: Fueling the Future Empire Bandwidth savings and outage prevention are compelling, but Watersworth hints at Meta's colossal future bet: Artificial Intelligence. Training massive AI models like Llama isn't streaming a movie; it's moving entire digital libraries across continents. Artificial Intelligence. Llama This requires staggering, low-latency bandwidth. In the AI arms race, milliseconds matter. Owning a direct, high-capacity pipe is a critical competitive advantage. milliseconds matter Satellite Limitations: While Starlink et al. offer remote coverage, they lack the raw capacity. A single modern undersea cable moves hundreds of terabits per second; satellites manage only a fraction. For AI's data-hungry future, fiber is still king. Satellite Limitations: While Starlink et al. offer remote coverage, they lack the raw capacity. A single modern undersea cable moves hundreds of terabits per second; satellites manage only a fraction. For AI's data-hungry future, fiber is still king. Satellite Limitations: hundreds of terabits per second fiber is still king. Every mile of Watersworth fiber isn't just about today's social feeds; it's infrastructure paving the way for Meta's AI ambitions – an empire built on data flow. Conclusion: The Unseen Backbone of Power Project Watersworth is far more than a cable. It's a $10 billion statement: Economic Independence: Escaping the tolls of telecom giants. Operational Control: Ensuring reliability and speed for billions of users and future services. Geopolitical Resilience: Navigating a world where undersea cables are tools and targets by avoiding conflict zones. AI Foundation: Building the dedicated, high-capacity infrastructure necessary to win the next generation of technological dominance. Economic Independence: Escaping the tolls of telecom giants. Economic Independence: Operational Control: Ensuring reliability and speed for billions of users and future services. Operational Control: Geopolitical Resilience: Navigating a world where undersea cables are tools and targets by avoiding conflict zones. Geopolitical Resilience: AI Foundation: Building the dedicated, high-capacity infrastructure necessary to win the next generation of technological dominance. AI Foundation: While data centers grab headlines, the real, enduring power lies beneath the waves. Meta's massive bet underscores a fundamental truth: Whoever controls the plumbing controls the flow of the digital world. Watersworth is Meta's bid to own its destiny, one kilometer of fiber at a time, while carefully charting a course through the treacherous waters of global politics. The race for the ocean floor is the new frontier in tech supremacy. Whoever controls the plumbing controls the flow of the digital world. References https://engineering.fb.com/2025/02/14/connectivity/project-waterworth-ai-subsea-infrastructure/ https://engineering.fb.com/2025/02/14/connectivity/project-waterworth-ai-subsea-infrastructure/ https://www.waterworthproject.com/ https://www.waterworthproject.com/ https://nypost.com/2021/10/05/facebook-lost-up-to-100m-in-revenue-amid-sweeping-outage-data/ https://nypost.com/2021/10/05/facebook-lost-up-to-100m-in-revenue-amid-sweeping-outage-data/ https://cloud.google.com/blog/products/infrastructure/learn-about-googles-subsea-cables https://cloud.google.com/blog/products/infrastructure/learn-about-googles-subsea-cables https://cloud.google.com/blog/products/infrastructure/introducing-the-nuvem-subsea-cable https://cloud.google.com/blog/products/infrastructure/introducing-the-nuvem-subsea-cable
