Meta Announces Petal Subsea Cable Linking U.S. and France, Targets 2029 Launch

Meta Platforms announced Petal, a 4,300-mile subsea cable connecting the U.S. and France, expected to enter service in 2029 at 1 petabit per second — double the capacity of the most advanced transoceanic cables in operation. Petal uses two-core fiber to double capacity without proportional increases in power or physical infrastructure, the company said on Sept. 21. The project expands Meta's seafloor footprint to more than 20 subsea cable investments spanning six continents. Project Waterworth, announced February 2025, will stretch over 31,000 miles and be wholly owned by Meta. Petal is being developed with NEC and Sumitomo Electric, with Orange handling the French landing. Meta expects capital expenditures of $130 billion to $145 billion this year, nearly double the $72.2 billion spent in 2025. TechCrunch reported Waterworth alone could exceed $10 billion. The infrastructure underpins AI products including Meta's Muse agent, which reached No. 1 on Apple's U.S. App Store after its Sept. 8 launch.