Meta unfurls Petal, a 1,000,000 Gbps internet cable 4,300 miles long — that's 3.3 million times quicker than the average US connection, and probably fast enough to transfer all original songs ever produced in less than a second
Meta, NEC, and Sumitomo Electric are building Petal, a petabit undersea cable linking the US and France by 2029.
Meta has unveiled Petal, an undersea cable system capable of transmitting a petabit of data every second across the Atlantic Ocean, spanning around 4,300 miles between the United States and France. The company anticipates Petal's commercial launch around 2029, collaborating with NEC Corporation and Sumitomo Electric Industries on its development and deployment.
Undersea cables currently handle around 99% of global intercontinental internet traffic, making capacity upgrades commercially significant. Traditional transatlantic cables transmit data at terabit speeds, but Petal aims to achieve petabit levels, approximately a million gigabits per second. Achieving this ambitious capacity required the use of multi-core fiber technology, doubling the 24 fiber pairs employed in Meta's prior Anjana cable system into 48 spatial channels.
Additionally, Petal features a low-power repeater design enabling operation from a single feeding point, enhancing resilience.
This astronomical speed would be 3.3 million times faster than the average US home internet connection. Petal could theoretically transfer all commercially released songs to another continent in under a second. Meta claims this capacity will double existing transoceanic capacity without necessitating additional power equipment or new physical structures, although this remains to be seen in real-world applications.
As global AI tools and digital services demand more reliable, resilient intercontinental connections, Meta continues to expand its undersea cable infrastructure through a portfolio of projects worldwide. The company has supported over 20 subsea cable initiatives, including its broader Project Waterworth, solidifying its commitment to undersea infrastructure.
Meta's Vice President, Network Investments, Alex-Handrah Aime, emphasized the foundational role of digital infrastructure in delivering high-quality services to end-users. Sumitomo Electric Industries echoed this sentiment, highlighting the importance of Sumitomo's two-core fiber in long-term global network expansion.
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