Meta is reportedly planning to lay over 40,000km of cable under the sea to boost its data infrastructure around the world in a project that could cost up to £7.8bn.

The parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp is already the second-biggest driver of internet traffic globally, just behind Google, but a new project could boost its capacity even further as it begins to expand into the world of artificial intelligence.

Plans for a new fibre-optic subsea cable stretching around the globe were first laid out by Silicon Valley entrepreneur Sunil Tagare, who said it had been nicknamed ‘W’ for its zigzagging shape and would be “one hell of a cable that will shock the world”.

The reports were given fresh credence by TechCrunch this week, after the US-based website said sources close to Meta had confirmed the plans in private.

The ‘W’ cable would come hot on the heels of Meta’s co-development of the similar 2Africa project, a huge internet cable delivering “seamless connection between Africa and Europe”.

The new and as-yet-unconfirmed subsea route would mark Meta’s first solo venture, however.

Mr Tagare said the ambitious piece of infrastructure would connect India with the East and West Coast US, avoiding “single points of failure” in the Red Sea, the South China Sea, Egypt, Maseilles, Malacca and Singapore.

Meanwhile, TechCrunch reported that it would likely take years to bring to fruition due to “the limited number of companies capable of building [it] out already [having] large customers like Google reserving their services”.

Despite this, Meta is expected to confirm details of the project in early 2025.

Google is already involved in 33 different subsea cable routes and most recently invested £790m to boost connectivity between the US and Japan in April of this year.

Meta, which recorded 19% year-on-year revenue growth in October, may well be trying to muscle in on the tech giant’s turf by building its first independently-owned cable for full monoply over increased digital infrastructure around the world. Watch this space!

The Express has contacted Meta for comment.