On Thursday (13th February), US President Donald Trump hosted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Washington, D.C. During their joint statement, India and the US reiterated their commitment to strengthening global digital highways in the Indian Ocean and regions beyond it.
“The US appreciates India’s role as a developmental, humanitarian assistance and net security provider in the Indian Ocean Region. In this context, the leaders committed to deepen bilateral dialogue and cooperation across the vast Indian Ocean region and launched the Indian Ocean Strategic Venture, a new bilateral, whole-of-government forum to advance coordinated investments in economic connectivity and commerce,” the statement read.
It further added, “Supporting greater Indian Ocean connectivity, the leaders also welcomed Meta’s announcement of a multi-billion, multi-year investment in an undersea cable project that will begin work this year and ultimately stretch over 50,000 km to connect five continents and strengthen global digital highways in the Indian Ocean region and beyond.“
India has made its commitment clear in terms of its investment in the maintenance, repair and financing of undersea cables in the Indian Ocean through trusted vendors.
In November 2024, Tech Crunch reported that Meta (the parent company of Facebook) was planning to build underwater cables as part of a 40,000+ kilometre project. The cables will extend throughout the world and will require an investment of $10 billion.
According to the report, Meta will be the only owner and user of the undersea cable. The initial budget of the project is set at $2 billion. It will take several years before the project becomes operational.
A submarine cable industry analyst named Ranulf Scarbrough was quoted as saying, “There’s a real tight supply on cable ships. They’re expensive at the minute and booked out several years ahead. Finding the available resources to do it soon is a challenge.”
He stated that Meta could build the project in segments. The undersea cable will give Meta a dedicated pipeline for data traffic across the globe. The cables will run through the East Coast of the U.S. to India and then to the West Coast of the U.S. from India.
