Browsing: 2Africa

Cabling Africa: 180Tbps sub-sea cable for future internet connectivity in Africa announced

A new mega cable capable of carrying extensive data across Africa has been announced. China Mobile International, Facebook, MTN GlobalConnect, Orange, stc, Telecom Egypt, Vodacom, Vodafone and WIOCC have announced that they will partner to build 2Africa.

This is expected to be the most comprehensive subsea cable to serve the African continent and Middle East region. The parties have appointed Alcatel Submarine Networks (“ASN”) to build the cable in a fully funded project which will greatly enhance connectivity across Africa and the Middle East.

At 37,000km long, 2Africa will be one of the world’s largest subsea cable projects and will interconnect Europe (eastward via Egypt), the Middle East (via Saudi Arabia), and 21 landings in 16 countries in Africa. The system is expected to go live in 2023/4, delivering more than the total combined capacity of all subsea cables serving Africa today, with a design capacity of up to 180Tbps …