Facebook is building an undersea cable that is as long as the circumference of Earth

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Facebook is one of the widely-used social media platforms in the world, saying it is the largest platform would also bring no arguments. Now, the company has found out that one continent is still not actively using Facebook yet and it's Africa. To encourage usage, it is now teaming up with several telecom companies to build one long undersea cable with its length being as long as the circumference of the Earth.

Facebook is teaming up with Johannesburg-based MTN Group, Telecom Egypt, Vodafone and Orange SA to build an undersea cable that delivers three times the capacity of all current cables serving Africa. It will allow people to experience faster Internet, and also expected to improve business industries, healthcare services and education in the continent. The cable will be built by Nokia Oyj's Alcatel Submarine Networks and will run along the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, being one of the longest undersea cables in the world.

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It is said that only four in 10 people in Africa have access to the Internet compared with a global average of six in 10. This is a project that "will ensure that there is enough internet capacity to help build a modern digital society that includes services that require a large amount of data transfer, such as cloud computing or video" in the continent, said Nick Gliddon, director of Vodafone Carrier Services. The cost of the project is expected to be close to 1 Billion USD (~RM4.34 Billion) and will get done by 2024.

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