It will eventually measure 37,000 kilometers long, almost circling the earth. The so-called “2Africa” cable, launched in May 2020, should be operational by the end of 2023.
The 2Africa consortium – comprised of China Mobile International, Facebook, MTN GlobalConnect, Orange, STC, Telecom Egypt, Vodafone and WIOCC – has announced the addition of four new branches to the 2Africa cable. These connections will expand 2Africa’s connectivity to the Seychelles, Comoros Islands and Angola, and bring a new landing in southeast Nigeria. These new connections are in addition to the recently announced extension to the Canary Islands. The cable will start in England, go around the black continent before stopping in the south of France. Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN) has been selected to install the 35 connections in 26 countries, which will help strengthen connectivity to and around Africa. As with the other 2Africa cable landing points, capacity will be made available to service providers in neutral data centers or open access cable landing stations on a fair and equitable foundation, encouraging and supporting the development of a healthy Internet ecosystem. 2Africa, which will be the world’s biggest submarine cable project, will provide faster and more reliable Internet service to every country where it lands.
Illustration by Nasa on Unsplash
