New 4,300-mile-long internet cable will shuttle data along the ocean floor at 1 million gigabits per second
Petal, the world's first petabit transoceanic fiber cable, could theoretically support simultaneous music streaming for 75% of the world's population.
Meta's new 4,300-mile undersea fiber cable, dubbed Petal, promises to revolutionize internet connectivity between the U.S. and France with unprecedented speeds of up to 1 million gigabits per second. This groundbreaking cable will be capable of transmitting 125 terabytes of data every second, equivalent to approximately 25,000 high-definition movies. As the first subsea cable to deliver petabit capacity across transoceanic distances, Petal will enable 75% of the world's population to stream music simultaneously.
The innovative Petal cable will utilize multi-core fiber technology, with each fiber strand containing two cores that transmit optical signals in opposite directions. This design, employing dual-core fibers, will allow Petal to carry the data that would normally require a pair of single-core fibers. With 24 pairs of dual-core fibers, Petal will boast 96 individual fiber cores, equivalent to 48 conventional fiber pairs.
Japanese tech giant NEC will handle the design and construction of Petal, while Sumitomo Electric will supply the fiber. Subsea cables play a crucial role in carrying 99% of global internet traffic, making them a bedrock of the internet infrastructure. However, installing these fragile glass cables across vast distances on the ocean floor is no easy task. Meta representatives noted that a 4,300-mile subsea cable typically requires around 100 repeaters to boost the optical signals, ensuring optimal performance.
Petal will incorporate fan-in/fan-out technology, which enables the independent amplification of signals from each core before recombining them into the dual-core fiber. This technological feat will allow Petal to double its data-carrying capacity without significantly increasing power consumption. Building upon Meta's previous investments in subsea cable infrastructure, such as Marea, Amitie, and Anjana, Petal represents a significant leap forward in global telecommunications.
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