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Approximately 95% of the world鈥檚 data flows through undersea fiber optic cables long enough to circle the globe .

It鈥檚 impossible to fully appreciate how nearly every aspect of daily life is becoming digitized. Tens of thousands of terabytes of data travel across an undersea network of fiber optic cables long enough to circle the globe . Ninety five percent of the world鈥檚 data flows through these cables, including texts, emails, government communications, and approximately  in daily financial transactions. And of course, our relentless pursuit of increasingly powerful generative artificial intelligence (AI) will only accelerate our dependency on this network of fiber.

But fiber optic cables are remarkably fragile. They鈥檙e made of very thin glass fibers and are vulnerable to  factors like earthquakes and tsunamis. They鈥檙e also subject to accidental damage from boat anchors and fishing equipment. However, suspected non-accidental damage to this crucial undersea network seems to be happening with greater and greater frequency. 

In November 2024, a Chinese vessel dragged its anchor along the Baltic Sea floor for more than , severing data cables that connected Sweden, Lithuania, Finland, and Germany. One month later, a Russian oil tanker  a cable between Finland and Estonia. Earlier in the year, three cables in the Red Sea, through which 90% of communication between Europe and Asia flowed, were  when Houthi missiles sank a commercial ship. While intent to sabotage is  with absolute certainty, the marked increase in major incidences in the Baltic alone鈥�4 in only 16 months鈥攍ed NATO to increase electronic surveillance and naval patrols in the region.

Regardless of any vulnerability, real or perceived, the undersea fiber optic network is expanding exponentially. There鈥檚 no better example of that than Meta鈥檚 latest undersea cable initiative, . It will connect the US, Brazil, South Africa, and India via a circuitous routing that strategically avoids the South China Sea. Moreover, it will be buried using enhanced techniques to avoid damage from ship anchors and environmental hazards. 

What makes Project Waterworth so noteworthy isn鈥檛 just its size, but its ownership. Meta will be the cable鈥檚 sole owner. Historically, because of the high cost of such technology (anywhere from  per kilometer), ownership is often shared by a consortium of owners that includes both content providers and private investors. A single cable could have  of owners. However, as the demand for cloud computing services has grown, tech companies like Google, Meta, and Amazon have become more invested and involved in undersea cable development. Google is a partial or sole owner of approximately ; Meta has developed at least .

The history of technology鈥檚 advance is full of 鈥渆ureka moments.鈥� The story of Alexander Graham Bell鈥檚 first telephone call is still taught in nearly every American school. But today鈥檚 advances are so numerous and so frequent, a quaint tale can鈥檛 capture the breakthroughs. The vast undersea fiber optic network that we are increasingly dependent on, and that is literally growing-by-the-moment, is an example of not just one eureka moment, but instead, what may be better described as a 鈥渆ureka chapter鈥� in the great human story.

This blog was researched and drafted with assistance from Caitlyn Shrewsbury.