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What “spanning six continents” means
The six-continent wording is best understood as a description of the reach and ambition of Meta’s overall cable portfolio—not a claim that one cable follows a six-continent route or that every announced connection is already operating. The projects described by Meta and its partners cover routes in Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and South America, with additional Pacific and Southeast Asian connections. The cited project announcements do not establish a completed, six-continent network.
Submarine cables carry communications between continents through fiber-optic strands laid across the seafloor. They are important infrastructure for services that move data between regions. Meta’s September 2026 Petal announcement estimated that approximately 99% of intercontinental data traffic travels through subsea cables. In its February 2025 Waterworth announcement, Meta gave a different estimate: more than 95%. Both figures are Meta’s estimates, not independent measurements, and they should not be treated as a single verified statistic.
Meta’s projects at a glance
| System | Status in the cited announcement | Route or reach | Published length and capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waterworth | Announced by Meta in February 2025 as a future project | United States, India, Brazil, South Africa and other key regions; Meta describes a five-major-continent reach | More than 50,000 km; capacity not stated in Meta’s announcement |
| Petal | Announced by Meta in September 2026; expected to enter service in 2029 | France–United States | About 7,000 km; designed capacity of 1 Pbps; multi-core fiber at scale |
| 2Africa core | Meta reported the core system complete in November 2025 | Africa, Europe and Asia; 33 countries | Full system length of 45,000 km includes the Pearls extension; capacity not stated in Meta’s report |
| Candle | Announced by Meta in October 2025; target service year 2028 | Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore | 8,000 km; 570 Tbps, according to Meta |
| Bifrost | Keppel says it was completed in 2025; Meta’s October 2025 update said Mexico was expected in 2026 | Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Guam and the western United States; Mexico was a planned connection in Meta’s update | More than 20,000 km, according to Keppel; capacity not stated in the cited descriptions |
| Echo | Meta’s October 2025 update described it as delivering capacity | Guam–California, with potential onward Asia connectivity | 260 Tbps, according to Meta; length not stated in the update |
| Apricot | Meta’s October 2025 update said part of the route was available | Japan, Taiwan and Guam, with future extensions planned to the Philippines, Indonesia and Singapore | 12,000 km and 290 Tbps, according to Meta |
These figures are announcements or partner descriptions, not a common set of independently measured results. The sources do not provide consistent ownership shares, costs or commercial capacity allocations, so the table compares route, status and published technical figures rather than each project’s full business terms.
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What Waterworth is supposed to do
Meta announced Project Waterworth in February 2025 as a planned subsea system longer than 50,000 km, with connections involving the United States, India, Brazil, South Africa and other key regions. Meta described it as spanning five major continents and called it the world’s longest subsea cable project once complete. Those are the company’s description and future-project claim; the announcement does not make Waterworth an operational network today.
Waterworth’s announced geography is significant because it includes routes across the Atlantic and connections involving the Indian Ocean and other regions, rather than focusing on a single corridor. But the announcement does not establish exact final landing points, a completion date or a system capacity. Those details should not be inferred from the project’s headline length or reach.
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What Petal adds across the Atlantic
Petal is a separate planned cable announced by Meta in September 2026. The company described a roughly 7,000-kilometer route between France and the United States, a designed capacity of 1 petabit per second (1 Pbps), and use of multi-core fiber at scale. Meta said the system is expected to enter service in 2029.
The 1 Pbps number is a design specification for the planned system, not a measurement of traffic already carried. Likewise, 2029 is an announced target, not a guarantee that the route will be in service on that date. Petal adds a direct transatlantic project to the portfolio, but it does not replace or describe Waterworth.
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Which systems Meta has reported as complete or delivering capacity
2Africa
In November 2025, Meta reported that the core 2Africa system was complete. Meta said the system covers 33 countries across Africa, Europe and Asia and could reach an estimated 3 billion people. The 45,000-kilometer figure refers to the full system with the Pearls extension; Meta’s report said Pearls was scheduled for 2026. The cited announcement does not establish whether Pearls has since entered service, so the completion of the core should not be read as confirmation that the full extended system is live.
Echo and Apricot
Meta’s October 2025 APAC update described Echo as delivering capacity on the Guam–California route, with potential onward connectivity to Asia. Meta gave Echo a capacity figure of 260 Tbps. The same update said Apricot was available on part of its route between Japan, Taiwan and Guam, while extensions to the Philippines, Indonesia and Singapore remained future plans. Meta listed Apricot at 12,000 kilometers and 290 Tbps.
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- High-End: This metal-free fiber optic audio cable, featuring a fully flexible PVC jacket, is entirely immune to electrical interference. Each cable undergoes multi-stage testing during manufacturing to ensure maximum product quality and durability
- 24K gold-plated connectors: Corrosion resistant gold plating keeps connectors clean. And because these cables are fiber optic, they provide 100 % signal transmission with 0 % loss
- No risk: 36 months manufacturer warranty
Bifrost
Keppel says Bifrost was completed in 2025 and describes it as more than 20,000 kilometers long. Its route links Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Guam and the western United States. Meta’s October 2025 update noted a Mexico connection as expected in 2026; that schedule is not confirmation that the Mexico connection is now operational.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Other planned Pacific capacity
Candle
Meta announced Candle in October 2025 as a planned 8,000-kilometer system connecting Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. Meta published a planned capacity of 570 Tbps and a target service year of 2028. The route and specifications describe the announced plan, not an operating cable.
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Echo and Bifrost’s historical capacity target
When Meta announced Echo and Bifrost in 2021, it said the projects together would raise transpacific capacity by 70%. That is a historical announced target for the pair, not a current measured increase. Meta’s later project update gives a separate capacity figure for Echo, while Keppel provides a length for Bifrost; those figures do not verify the earlier 70% target as an observed result.
How to read cable capacity and project status
- Designed capacity is not observed traffic. Figures such as Petal’s 1 Pbps, Candle’s 570 Tbps, Echo’s 260 Tbps and Apricot’s 290 Tbps are published project specifications attributed to Meta. They do not show how much data a system currently carries.
- Completion, availability and planned extensions are different milestones. Meta reported the 2Africa core complete, described Echo as delivering capacity and said part of Apricot was available. Waterworth and Candle were future projects in the cited announcements; Petal is planned for 2029. Extensions and connections need their own status confirmation.
- Length is not a measure of service coverage by itself. A long route may connect multiple landing regions, but length alone does not establish which branches are active or how much traffic they carry.
- Resilience depends on routes, not just headline scale. Multiple systems and geographically diverse paths can provide alternative routes between regions. The announcements provide route descriptions, but they do not quantify end-to-end resilience or guarantee uninterrupted service.
What the portfolio does—and does not—show
The announcements show Meta participating in a broad, multi-region subsea buildout through projects at different stages: operating or reported complete systems, partially available routes, and cables still under construction or planning. The list is evidence of a growing infrastructure portfolio, not proof that Meta alone owns every system or that every announced capacity figure is available for its exclusive use. The cited material does not give a consistent account of ownership shares or commercial allocations.
For readers asking whether Meta is building its own internet cables, the precise answer is that it invests in and partners on large submarine cable systems. The public project descriptions identify routes, partners and technical ambitions, but they do not establish that Meta independently owns or operates all the cables listed here.
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