News Brief
Meta Picks Mumbai And Visakhapatnam For India Leg Of $10 Billion Waterworth Subsea Cable: Report
India’s current subsea cable infrastructure includes 17 international cables landing at 14 distinct stations across five cities. (Adobe Stock)
Meta Platforms has selected Mumbai and Visakhapatnam as the Indian landing sites for its Waterworth undersea cable project, Economic Times reported.
The social media giant, which owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, has reportedly engaged Sify Technologies as its landing partner under an estimated $5 million contract, ET reported, citing people familiar with the development.
Google, too, has tied up with Sify for the Indian landing of its $400 million Blue-Raman subsea cable.
Industry experts view Meta’s latest investment as a defining moment for India’s digital and AI ambitions.
“I believe this (Meta’s cable system) is going to be about a $10 billion investment over the next 5–10 years,” Sunil Tagare, founder of California-based OpenCables Inc, was quoted as saying by ET.
Spanning more than 50,000 km, Waterworth will be the world’s longest subsea cable, connecting the US, India, Brazil, and South Africa through a unique W-shaped route that avoids the volatile Red Sea corridor, often affected by regional conflicts. The system is expected to go live by 2030.
“This project could be especially transformative for India, positioning it as a potential global hub for AI infrastructure,” Tagare said.
With Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Tata Communications already investing heavily in subsea networks, Meta’s entry is expected to intensify competition in India’s rapidly expanding data connectivity market.
