Name of the Project
2Africa subsea cable.

Location
The subsea cable will interconnect Europe, eastward through Egypt and the Middle East through Saudi Arabia, with 21 landings in 16 countries across Africa.

Project Owner/s
The project is led by Meta, in collaboration with partners, including Bayobab (MTN Group), Orange, center3, Telecom Egypt, Vodafone Group and West Indian Ocean Cable Company.

Project Description
2Africa is the world’s longest open-access subsea cable system spanning three continents over 33 countries and connecting three-billion people, including Africa’s 1.4-billion people, over the next decade.

The 45 000 km₂  subsea cable will deliver much-needed Internet capacity and reliability across large parts of Africa, and supplement the fast-growing capacity demand in the Middle East. It will also underpin further growth of fourth-generation (4G) and fifth-generation (5G), as well as fixed broadband access, for hundreds of millions of people.

A 37 000-km-long cable system will deliver more than the total combined capacity of all subsea cables currently serving Africa, with a design capacity of up to 180 Tbps on key parts of the system.

The 2Africa cable will implement a new technology, Spatial Division Multiplexing, or SDM1, from Alcatel Submarine Networks, which allows for the deployment of up to 16 fibre pairs instead of the eight fibre pairs supported by older technologies, introducing much greater and more cost-effective capacity. The cable will incorporate optical switching tech¬nology to allow for flexible management of bandwidth.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Capital Expenditure
Not stated.

Planned Start/End Date
The project was launched in May 2020, with the system expected to go live in 2024.

Latest Developments
The core 2Africa subsea cable system has been completed and activated, marking a defining moment for Africa’s digital future.

The system lays the foundation for transformative new AI experiences, economic growth and digital inclusion across the continent. This will bring more subsea capacity than all of Africa’s subsea cables combined, consequently delivering faster, more reliable and cost-effective Internet access to consumers and enterprises.

2Africa was built to be open by design so that more providers can connect, and people and businesses can get faster, more dependable service, Meta network investments VP Alex-Handrah Aime has said.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Alcatel Submarine Networks (cable construction).

Contact Details for Project Information
2Africa Cable email contact@2AfricaCable.com.