Meta announces Petal, a 1-petabit subsea cable linking the U.S. and France

Meta is building a subsea cable called Petal that will connect the United States and France with 1 petabit per second of capacity, the company said in a Sept. 21 announcement.

The cable will span 7,000 kilometers, or more than 4,300 miles. Meta said that capacity is double that of today's most advanced transoceanic cables, and called it the largest generational increase in capacity of any transoceanic subsea cable system.

Petal is expected to be in service in 2029. Meta did not disclose the cost.

How it works

Petal will be the first cable to use multi-core fiber across an ocean, according to Meta. The company said the design carries twice the data without a matching increase in power or physical infrastructure.

Partners

Meta is partnering with NEC on the cable system and working with Sumitomo Electric Industries on the fiber. French telecom company Orange is working on plans to land the cable on France's Atlantic coast.

Meta said it has invested in more than 20 subsea cable projects, including Project Waterworth.

Sources

1. Meta Platforms, Inc. company announcement, "Announcing Petal, a First-of-its-Kind Transoceanic Subsea Cable," Sept. 21, 2026, Meta Newsroom

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