Meta's Petal: A Petabit Under the Sea

Meta has unveiled Petal, a subsea cable system designed to transmit data at a petabit per second across the Atlantic Ocean. This advanced cable will stretch about 7,000 kilometers, connecting the United States and France, with commercial service anticipated by 2029. The project involves collaboration with NEC Corporation and Sumitomo Electric Industries.

Petal's remarkable speed is achieved through multi-core fiber technology, effectively doubling the fiber pairs of previous systems to 48 spatial channels. This technological advancement aims to support the ever-increasing demand for reliable internet connections driven by AI and digital services. The system also features a novel, lower-power repeater design, enhancing its resilience.

This capacity means Petal could theoretically allow 75% of the global population to stream music concurrently. Meta emphasizes that Petal will double existing transoceanic capacity without requiring additional power equipment or new physical infrastructure. The company continues its significant investments in undersea cable projects worldwide as critical digital infrastructure.