Meta to Build Undersea Cable Connecting the US and France

Meta Platforms (META) announced plans on Monday to build a new undersea cable connecting the United States and France. Petal, a first-of-its-kind transoceanic subsea cable, will be capable of carrying 1 petabit between the countries per second, according to a press release from the tech giant. Shares in META stock responded well to the news, climbing as much as 7% in early trading.

Expected to enter service in 2029, Petal will carry twice the capacity of today’s best-in-class transoceanic cables, Meta said Monday. As a positive bonus, the undersea cable won’t result in a proportional increase in power or physical infrastructure. Petal will be built in partnership with NEC and Sumitomo Electric Industries, with support on the French landing.

A subsea cable is the least visible, yet one of the most critical layers of the internet. Approximately 99% of intercontinental data traffic – nearly every message, phone, or video call between continents – travels through glass strands on the ocean floor. Meta’s subsea cable will operate as the first transoceanic subsea cable at petabit capacity, and the first to deploy multi-core fiber at scale.

Wall Street responded positively to the announcement, sending Meta’s shares up during early Monday trading. In the last 30 days, META has surged over 29%, one of the better performers among big tech on the stock market. As the company ramps up its AI efforts with the launch of the Muse personal AI agent, developments like the Petal undersea capable will only ramp up expectations for the company’s continued growth. Hence, firms like Bank of America and JPMorgan have raised their forecasts for the stock, which currently trades at $706.96.