Meta, along with NEC Corporation and Sumitomo Electric Industries, is constructing a new undersea cable called Petal, which will link the United States and France. Stretching approximately 7,000 kilometers (about 4,300 miles), the cable is expected to become operational by 2029. This project aims to significantly increase the speed and capacity of transatlantic data transmission, addressing growing global demand for fast and reliable internet connections. The Petal cable will be capable of transmitting a petabit of data per second, which is equivalent to one million gigabits per second. This is vastly greater than traditional transatlantic cables, which typically handle data in the terabits per second range. Meta estimates that this capacity could support 75% of the world's population streaming music simultaneously, highlighting the cable's immense data-handling ability. To achieve this high capacity, the Petal system employs multi-core fiber technology, which doubles the number of fiber pairs used in Meta's previous Anjana cable system from 24 to 48 spatial channels. It also uses a more energy-efficient repeater design, enabling the system to operate from a single feeding point, enhancing its reliability. Based on average broadband speeds in the U.S., the Petal cable would be roughly 3.3 million times faster than a typical home internet connection. The speed of Petal is so high that it could, in theory, transfer every commercially released song to another continent in under one second. Meta claims that this level of performance could double existing transoceanic data capacity without requiring additional power equipment or new physical infrastructure. However, this claim remains untested outside of controlled trials. Undersea cables currently handle nearly all of the world's intercontinental internet traffic, making new capacity increases highly valuable. As AI tools and digital services grow, the need for more resilient and reliable international connections becomes even more pressing. Meta has already supported over 20 subsea cable projects, including the broader Project Waterworth initiative, underscoring its long-term commitment to undersea infrastructure. Sumitomo Electric Industries highlights that its new two-core fiber is crucial for supporting future global network expansion. Whether Petal meets its 2029 deadline will depend on factors like regulatory approval, ocean permits, and manufacturing schedules, which can often be delayed for large-scale projects. Eduardo Mateo, Chief Strategy Officer at NEC Corporation, described the Petal project as a significant technological milestone in the history of global telecommunications.