Meta Unveils Undersea Cable Project Linking the US and France

Meta has unveiled its groundbreaking Petal project, which aims to create a submarine cable that will span around 7,000 kilometers between the United States and France. This cable is expected to have a staggering capacity of 1 Petabit per second, with a targeted launch date in 2029.

We’re excited to announce Petal: the world’s first petabit-class transoceanic subsea cable and the first to deploy multi-core fiber at scale.

Covering 7,000 km between France and the US, Petal will deliver 1 Petabit per second, effectively doubling the capacity of existing cables.

— Engineering at Meta (@Meta_Engineers) September 21, 2026

According to the company, Petal will set a new standard as the first transoceanic cable to achieve petabit-class capacity and to utilize multi-core fiber technology at such a scale.

The cable will consist of 24 fiber pairs, each containing two cores, which Meta claims is equivalent to 48 pairs of traditional optical fiber in terms of capacity. This design enables a significant increase in capacity while maintaining energy efficiency and minimizing the need for additional infrastructure.

When operational, Petal will exceed the capacity of the Anjana transatlantic cable, which currently supports nearly 0.5 Petabits per second.

NEC has been contracted to deliver a complete system for the project, including the manufacturing and installation of the cable. Sumitomo Electric Industries will produce the innovative dual-core optical fiber, and Orange will assist in landing the cable on the French Atlantic coast and integrating it into the European network.

Meta highlighted that approximately 99% of intercontinental data traffic relies on undersea cables, as reported by the International Telecommunication Union.