Meta is developing a new transoceanic fiber-optic cable capable of delivering petabit-per-second data speeds between the U.S. and France by 2029.
Key facts
- •The Petal cable will be capable of moving approximately 125 terabytes of data per second.
- •Each fiber strand in the cable measures 125 micrometers in diameter, roughly the thickness of a human hair.
- •The system will require approximately 100 repeaters along its 4,300-mile route to amplify optical signals.
- •Meta representatives stated the cable's capacity is sufficient to allow 75% of the global population to stream music simultaneously.
- •The project is being funded and operated by Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram.
Meta has announced plans for Petal, a 4,300-mile (7,000-kilometer) undersea fiber-optic cable designed to connect the United States and France. Scheduled to come online in 2029, the system is expected to reach speeds of up to 1 million gigabits per second. This capacity is projected to be double that of existing subsea cables of comparable length, marking the first time such petabit-level performance will be delivered across transoceanic distances.
By the numbers
Advanced Fiber Technology
Petal will be the first commercial subsea cable system to utilize multi-core fiber technology. While conventional fiber strands feature a single core, each of Petal's strands will contain two cores, allowing optical signals to travel in opposite directions. This design enables a single strand to provide the capacity typically requiring a pair of single-core fibers. The cable will contain 24 pairs of these dual-core fibers, totaling 96 individual cores, which Meta engineers state will carry as much data as 48 conventional fiber pairs.
Engineering and Infrastructure
The project involves Japanese technology company NEC for design and construction, with Sumitomo Electric supplying the fiber. To maintain signal integrity over the 4,300-mile span, the system will use repeaters—amplifiers that boost optical signals using lasers. Petal will employ 'fan-in/fan-out' technology at these repeaters, which routes signals from each core into separate single-core fibers for independent amplification before returning them to the dual-core cable. This engineering approach allows the system to double its data capacity without a proportional increase in power consumption.
Context of Global Connectivity
Subsea cables currently carry approximately 99% of global internet traffic, according to the International Telecommunication Union. Petal represents the latest in a series of subsea investments by Meta, following the Marea cable in 2018, Amitie in 2023, and Anjana in 2025. Compared to Marea, which supports 192 terabits per second, Petal is expected to offer more than five times that capacity.
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This article was independently rewritten by ManyPress editorial AI from reporting originally published by Live Science.
