Meta to lay 1 petabit transatlantic Petal cable between US and France
The 2029 Petal system aims to double Meta’s current capacity on the route and bolster European connectivity resilience.
Meta plans to deploy a new transatlantic subsea cable, “Petal,” between France and the US delivering 1 petabit per second of capacity, double its existing Anjana system. Petal achieves this by using 48 fiber pairs arranged as a two‑core fiber design (24 pairs per core), making it the highest‑capacity subsea system at this distance. The system is scheduled to go into service in 2029 and is being built with NEC and Sumitomo Electric Industries, with Orange supporting the French landing. To keep signal quality over the typical ~100‑repeater span, Meta will use ultra‑pure synthetic silica to cut attenuation and a repeater design that converts the two‑core fiber to single‑core internally for amplification via a Fan‑In/Fan‑Out interface. Meta positions this build as critical infrastructure to meet growing connectivity demand in Europe by increasing capacity and resiliency of its network.
Why it matters
Petal raises the bar for long-haul subsea capacity, giving Meta a transatlantic link that doubles the capacity of its Anjana system and is designed specifically for rising European connectivity demand. By partnering with NEC, Sumitomo Electric Industries and Orange, and targeting entry into service in 2029, Meta is investing early in infrastructure it says will increase both bandwidth and resiliency for traffic between Europe and the US as usage grows over the coming years.
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Sources
- Tom's Hardware