Meta scouts local partners for Project Waterworth

In a bid to meet growing data demand and provide faster speeds for apps like Instagram, WhatsApp, and YouTube, tech giant Meta has moved a step ahead on its Project Waterworth. The 50,000-km undersea cable project, the world’s longest such initiative, will connect India, the US, Brazil, South Africa, and other key locations.

The company has entered into talks with local players such as Airtel, Jio, Tata Communications, and Lightstorm to land its cable in the country, three executives in the know said.

Along with other subsea cables coming to India, once implemented, Meta’s Waterworth cable line will provide users in the country with better internet speeds, low latency, and lag-free experience on apps like Instagram, WhatsApp, and YouTube. This is crucial for consuming large-scale AI applications and adopting open AI models.

“We are exploring local partnerships with telecom operators in India, and our regulatory team is also evaluating the need for the necessary licence here to land our subsea cable,” a company executive said.

For Meta, Project Waterworth is critical amid growing data usage in the country. According to an industry executive, capacity enhancement is critical to cater to huge data volumes going forward. Subsea cables carry over 95% of the world’s global data traffic. Everything from YouTube videos to financial trades to personal messages flows through undersea cables.

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“Meta is investing in India—one of its largest markets—bringing the world’s longest, highest capacity and most technologically advanced subsea cable project to connect India, the US, and other locations,” a Meta spokesperson said in response to Mint‘s queries.

“This new, multi-billion dollar investment will stretch over 50,000 km to connect five continents, enhancing the scale and reliability of the global digital highways that power Meta’s apps and services, and will be ready for service at the end of the decade,” the spokesperson said, adding that the investment reaffirms Meta’s commitment to economic growth, resilient infrastructure, and digital inclusion, supporting India’s thriving digital landscape and fostering technological innovation.

Meta license

Meta, a global entity, does not hold an International Long Distance (ILD) license. The licence authorises companies to provide international long-distance telecom services between countries, including voice, data, and internet traffic.

“Projects like Waterworth, while suite Meta’s products such as Instagram and WhatsApp in the country, will also be useful for India’s AI deployments going forward as data capacities will be increased to accommodate volumes,” said Amajit Gupta, group CEO and MD at Lightstorm.

According to Gupta, given the current regulatory landscape in the country, Meta would likely be looking to partner with telecom operators and other local partners to take internet through its subsea cable to the last mile in the country.

Simply put, telecom operators and internet service providers own the necessary infrastructure, such as cable landing stations, which are key for transmitting data from international points to users via wireless internet and fibre.

“Partnership with Meta for Waterworth will bring in additional revenue streams for the companies as they would charge the company for utilising their infrastructure,” an executive at a telecom operator said, adding that it is highly unlikely that Meta will adopt the licence route as the same will require the company to form an Indian entity.

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Queries emailed to Airtel, Jio, and Tata Communications on Project Waterworth did not elicit any response till press time.

Notably, Meta owns a 9.99% stake in Jio Platforms, the parent company of Reliance Jio.

Meta announced Project Waterworth in February after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US. Both countries issued a joint statement that included commitments on undersea technologies.

China influence

Analysts also see the India-US collaboration and Meta’s Project Waterworth as a move to avoid China’s growing influence in undersea cables. Largely, undersea cables go through high-risk geopolitical areas like the Red Sea, South China Sea and the Strait of Malacca, where cable cuts are frequent and repair takes a lot of time.

“Meta would avoid such high-risk geopolitical regions like the Red Sea and go with trusted geographies with selected vendors,” the company executive said.

Currently, about 18 submarine cables land in India in cities such as Mumbai, Chennai, Cochin, Tuticorin, and Trivandrum. Private companies such as Google, Meta, Airtel, and Jio are working on five more such projects.

Meta and Airtel are also working on the 2Africa Pearls subsea project, whereas Jio, along with other global telecom operators, is building the India-Asia-Express and India-Europe-Express projects.

On Thursday, Airtel said it had landed the 2Africa Pearls cable in the country, connecting India to Africa and Europe via the Middle East. 2Africa Pearls brings over 100Tbps (terabits per second) of international capacity to India, it said.

“We will continue investing in global cable systems and future-proof our network with an aim to deliver high uptime, reliability, and superior quality networks to our customers,” Sharat Sinha, director & CEO of Airtel Business, said in a release.

Google and its partners are also working on the Blue-Raman subsea cable project in Mumbai, which will link West Asia, Southern Europe and Asia.