Meta has introduced the Petal undersea cable system – the first system capable of delivering petabit capacity over transoceanic distances. The cable will connect France and the U.S. with a length of approximately 7,000 km and is expected to be operational by 2029. The company claims that the system will provide a capacity of 1 petabit per second – about twice that of the most efficient existing transoceanic systems. Moreover, the developers aim to increase the volume of data transmitted without a comparable increase in energy consumption and physical infrastructure. Meta calls Petal the largest single increase in capacity among transoceanic undersea cable systems.
A key feature of the project will be the use of multi-core optical fiber on the transoceanic segment – Petal is set to be the first system with such technology deployed over these distances. To implement the project, Meta is collaborating with NEC, a specialist in undersea cable systems, and Sumitomo Electric Industries. The cable laying on the Atlantic coast of France will be handled by Orange. Undersea lines already account for about 99% of intercontinental internet traffic, so increasing their capacity is directly related to the growing demands on international networks.
Petal will be another project by Meta in the field of undersea infrastructure. The company has invested in over 20 cable system projects and has deployed hundreds of thousands of kilometers of optical lines worldwide, remaining one of the largest investors in this infrastructure. One of Meta's largest projects remains Project Waterworth, aimed at creating a large-scale global undersea network. In this context, Petal is expected to increase the available capacity on one of the key transatlantic routes.