SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA – The 2Africa consortium, comprising of China Mobile International, Facebook, MTN GlobalConnect, Orange, Saudi Telecom Company, Telecom Egypt, Vodafone and WIOCC, has announced the addition of four new branches to the 2Africa cable.
The branches will extend 2Africa’s connectivity to Seychelles, the Comoros Islands, and Angola, and bring a new landing to south-east Nigeria.
The new branches join the recently announced extension to the Canary Islands.
2Africa, which will be the largest subsea cable project in the world, will deliver faster, more reliable internet service to each country where it lands and the communities that rely on the internet for services from education to healthcare, and business will experience the economic and social benefits that come from this increased connectivity.
Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN) has been selected to deploy the new branches, which will increase the number of 2Africa landings to 35 in 26 countries, further improving connectivity into and around Africa.
As with other 2Africa cable landings, capacity will be available to service providers at carrier-neutral data centers or open-access cable landing stations on a fair and equitable basis, encouraging and supporting the development of a healthy internet ecosystem.
Since launching the 2Africa cable in May 2020, the 2Africa consortium has made considerable progress in planning and preparing for the deployment of the cable, which is expected to ‘go live’ in late 2023.
Most of the subsea route survey activity is now complete and ASN has started manufacturing the cable and building repeater units in its factories in Calais and Greenwich to deploy the first segments in 2022.
One of 2Africa’s key segments, the Egypt terrestrial crossing that interconnects landing sites on the Red and the Mediterranean Seas via two completely diverse terrestrial routes, has been completed ahead of schedule.
A third diverse marine path will complement this segment via the Red Sea.
2Africa was launched in MY 2020 and claims to be the most comprehensive subsea cable to serve the African continent and the Middle East region.
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.
Liked this article? Subscribe to DealStreet Africa News, our regular email newsletter with the latest news, deals and insights from Africa’s business, economy and more. SUBSCRIBE HERE
