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The aim is for Echo to be completed by late 2023, while Bifrost is set to be finished by late 2024.
Last May, Facebook announced plans to build a 37,000-kilometer (22,991-mile) long undersea cable around Africa to provide it with better internet access.
Google is also working on an underwater cable called Equiano, which aims to connect Africa with Europe. The web search titan has another unit, Loon, which makes high-altitude balloons that deliver 4G internet to rural communities. It recently announced an expansion of that plan to Mozambique.
Facebook previously had plans to beam internet to remote areas using solar-powered drones. Called Aquila, the company shuttered the project in 2018 but has reportedly been working with Airbus to test similar drones again in Australia.