On Oct. 2, 2024, a posting by Sunil Tagare was the first to discuss purported plans from Meta to invest in a fiber optic subsea cable project—potentially 40,000 km long, with a world-wide scope that includes the U.S., India, South Africa and Australia—that would take years to arrange and potentially cost more than $10 billion. Further, Meta reportedly would be the sole owner of the cable.

An article in TechCrunch said that while the route would avoid areas considered vulnerable to political and military tensions, few contractors would be capable of building out that infrastructure and many are tied up with commitments to other customers. “If the project does come to fruition, it’s likely to take several years before the cable is laid and switched on.”