Breaking the Petabit Barrier

Meta has officially announced the development of Petal, a pioneering transoceanic subsea cable system designed to reach a capacity of 1 petabit per second (Pbps). This massive infrastructure project is set to span approximately 7,000 km between the United States and France, effectively doubling the capacity of the most advanced cables currently in operation. As part of its broader Further details are available from Meta Engineering in the original source material.

moving through these glass strands, Petal represents a critical upgrade to the physical backbone of the global internet. Further details are available from Elizabeth Rivera Hartling in the original source material.

Technological Innovations in Fiber Design

, increasing the number of fiber pairs within a single cable. Petal takes this a step further by utilizing 2-core fiber technology.

By incorporating two cores into a single fiber strand, Petal achieves an effective capacity equivalent to 48 fiber pairs within a 24 fiber-pair system. This represents the largest generational leap in repeatered subsea system capacity to date.

Overcoming Engineering Challenges

Engineering a 2-core fiber system presented significant technical hurdles, particularly in manufacturing and signal amplification. To maintain the standard physical dimensions of the fiber, manufacturers utilized ultra-pure synthetic silica during the preform production process. Additionally, by controlling the refractive indexes of the cores against the surrounding medium, engineers were able to minimize crosstalk between the two cores to near-immeasurable levels.

The cable also requires a sophisticated approach to signal amplification. A standard 7,000 km run typically necessitates roughly 100 repeaters. For Petal, the team developed a single-body 96-amp repeater that incorporates a Fan-In/Fan-Out (FIFO) interface. This mechanism transitions 2-core fiber into two single-core fibers for the amplification process, then converts them back, allowing the system to leverage high-efficiency single-core amplification without needing to change existing power feeding equipment limits.

Strategic Partnerships and Future Outlook

The project is a result of extensive collaboration between Meta and several industry leaders. NEC Corporation is acting as the turnkey system supplier, having invested heavily in the manufacturing of petabit-class repeaters and multi-core systems. Eduardo Mateo, Chief Strategy Officer of NEC’s Submarine Network Division, described the milestone as a major achievement in global telecommunications history.

Sumitomo Electric Industries provided the specialized “2C Z-PLUS ULL Fiber,” which is central to Petal’s optical performance. Meanwhile, Orange is working alongside Meta to facilitate the landing of the cable on the French Atlantic coast and manage the subsequent terrestrial integration into the European network. With a target service date of 2029, Petal is positioned to set a new standard for transoceanic data transmission.

Sources

• Meta EngineeringInside Petal: Building the World’s First Petabit-Class Transoceanic Subsea Cable