Google and Meta to Rival Jio and Airtel with New Subsea Cable Projects

According to a report, global IT firms such as Google and Meta are investing billions of dollars in undersea cable infrastructure in India, posing a challenge to local data titans Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Tata Communications as the country's data center growth continues.

Independent firms such as Sify Technologies and Lightstorm are gaining pace, offering more affordable landing options than telecom incumbents such as Airtel and Tata Communications.

Google wants to implement its Blue-Raman Submarine Cable System in Mumbai in the first quarter of 2025. The $400-million project, which has a colossal 218-Tbps capacity, includes investment from Italy's Sparkle, among others. This raises Google's total global investment in subsea cables to 18.

Meta, on the other hand, is working on a $10 billion underwater cable project that is intended to deliver 500 Tbps of capacity within three years. This cable will pass through India, one of the major markets for consumer and enterprise AI.

India's Strategic Position in Subsea Growth

Vinay Nagpal, CEO of InterGlobix LLC, a US-based subsea network consultancy, believes the subsea business is experiencing a significant recovery.

Nagpal further stated that between 2016 and 2020, 107 new cables totaling $13.8 billion were constructed, with another $18 billion in investment planned for 2021-2025.

Meta's cable is expected to land in Gujarat, where Reliance Industries is building a large 1-gigawatt AI data centre, or Chennai, where Reliance maintains another data centre.

Domestic Players Increase Capability

Reliance Jio and Airtel are also pushing their own undersea cable projects, 2Africa Pearls, India-Asia-Express (IAX), and India-Europe-Express (IEX), which would double their current capacity by early 2025.

According to Amajit Gupta, MD of Lightstorm, traffic patterns on submarine cables have evolved dramatically.

A decade ago, cables carried predominantly voice traffic; today, they carry 50% traffic from OTT platforms and hyperscalers such as Google, Meta, Amazon, and Microsoft, with business and internet traffic accounting for the remainder, he said.

Battle over India's Data Backbone

The battle focuses on India's high-capacity optical fiber sector, which is currently controlled by Airtel and Tata Communications. Reliance Jio, while being a newer competitor, is expanding its reach to satisfy the increasing demand for data.

Trai expects the global submarine cable market to expand from $27.57 billion in 2023 to $40.58 billion by 2028. India's category, which is developing at the quickest rate in Asia-Pacific, is estimated to reach $78.6 million by 2030, led by increased data sovereignty and security requirements. 
 
However, only licensed International Long Distance (ILD) operators and ISP-A holders can manage cable landing stations (CLS) in India, resulting in regulatory restrictions. Airtel and Tata Communications, as permission holders, imposed high access prices, leading Big Tech to seek alternate, more cost-effective choices.