2Africa

Last updated
2Africa
Cable typeFibre-optic
Design capacity180 Tbit/s
Built byAlcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks (ASN)
Area served Africa, Middle East, and Europe [1]
Website www.2africacable.net

2Africa is an international submarine telecommunications cable that circumnavigates the coastline of Africa to interconnect Europe and the Middle East. The 2Africa cable project is being funded by a consortium of eight global partners. [2]

Contents

The system will be one of the first to use spatial division multiplexing (SDM1) and has a design capacity of 180 Tbps across 16 fiber pairs. [3] [4] When complete, 2Africa will be the largest subsea cable in the world, at 45,000 kilometers long, connecting 46 cable landing stations across 33 countries. [5]

2Africa passes from Europe through the Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean, and then back into Europe via the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. [3]

The system is to be constructed by Alcatel Submarine Networks. [6] and is intended to be operational in 2024. [5]

Cable ownership

2Africa is owned by a consortium consisting of eight members, namely: [2]

Landing points and operators

2Africa Cable Landing Points
LocationOperator & Technical Partner
Barcelona, SpainAFR-IX Telecom [7]
Marseille, France Vodafone Group Plc [8]
Genoa, Italy Vodafone Group Plc [9]
Tympaki, Greece Vodafone Group Plc [10]
Port Said, Egypt

Ras Ghareb, Egypt

 Telecom Egypt [11] [12]
Yanbu, Saudi Arabia

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

 Saudi Telecom Company [13]
Djibouti City, Djibouti Djibouti Telecom [14]
Berbera, Somaliland SomCable [15]
Victoria, SeychellesIntelvision [16]
Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania Airtel Africa [17]
Nacala, Mozambique Vodacom Mozambique [18]
Mahajanga, MadagascarTelma Madagascar [19]
Maputo, Mozambique Vodacom Mozambique [20]
Durban, South Africa West Indian Ocean Cable Company [21]
Eastern Cape, South Africa Vodacom [22]
Yzerfontein, South Africa

Duynefontein, South Africa

 MTN Group [23]
Luanda, Angola Unitel Angola [24]
Moanda, DR Congo

Pointe-Noire, DR Congo

 Orange RDC, Airtel Africa [25] [26]
Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria MainOne (Equinix) [27]
Lagos, Nigeria Bayobab (MTN Group) [28]
Accra, Ghana Bayobab (MTN Group) [28]
Abidjan, Ivory Coast MTN Group [29]
Dakar, Senegal Sonatel [30] [31]
Telde, Canary Islands Vodafone Group Plc [32]
Carcavelos, Portugal Vodafone Group Plc [33]
Bude, United Kingdom Vodafone Group Plc [34]

In September 2021, 2Africa announced a new segment of the cable called '2Africa PEARLS', which is planned to extend to the Persian Gulf, India and Pakistan. [35]

2Africa PEARLS Branch (planned)
LocationOperator & Technical Partner
Barka, Oman

Salalah, Oman

 Ooredoo Oman [36]
Doha, Qatar Vodafone Qatar [37]
Manama, Bahrain Batelco, Saudi Telecom Company [38]
Kuwait City, KuwaitKEMS Zajil Telecom [39]
Al-Faw, Iraq ITPC, [39] Saudi Telecom Company [40]
Karachi, Pakistan Transworld Associates [41]
Mumbai, India Bharti Airtel [42]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Building 2Africa, a transformative subsea cable to better connect Africa". Facebook Engineering. 2020-05-14. Retrieved 2020-06-26.
  2. 1 2 "FAQ | 2Africa". 2Africa Cable. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  3. 1 2 Chanthadavong, Aimee. "Facebook to build a subsea cable to improve connectivity in Africa". ZDNet. Retrieved 2020-05-15.
  4. ↑ Vermeulen, Jan (9 December 2022). "Facebook's massive undersea cable lands in South Africa". MyBroadband. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  5. 1 2 "2Africa - Submarine Networks". www.submarinenetworks.com. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  6. ↑ "2Africa: New mega subsea cable to connect continent - TechCentral". techcentral.co.za. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
  7. ↑ Swinhoe, Dan (2022-10-26). "AFR-IX Telecom's Barcelona cable landing station goes live, receives 2Africa cable". Data Center Dynamics. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  8. ↑ "2Africa cable lands in Marseille, France to strengthen interconnectivity with Africa". vodafone.com. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  9. ↑ "2Africa Subsea Cable Makes First Landing in Genoa, Italy". Meta. 2022-04-14. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  10. ↑ "2Africa cable comes to Crete". Vodafone.com. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  11. ↑ "2Africa Subsea Cable Segment in Egypt Completed with Port Said Landing". ir.te.eg. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  12. ↑ "2Africa Lands in Ras Ghareb, Egypt". ir.te.eg. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  13. ↑ kcl@rk (2023-05-03). "2Africa Subsea Cable Lands in Jeddah and Yanbu". SubTel Forum. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  14. ↑ "DJIBOUTI TELECOM WELCOMES THE NEW 2AFRICA SUBMARINE CABLE". Djibouti Telecom . 2022-05-16. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  15. ↑ Staff (2022-05-29). "2 Africa Cable Lands In Berbera with SOMCABLE submarine Network". Somaliland Chronicle. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  16. ↑ "Intelvision's 2Africa cable system lands in Seychelles". www.nation.sc. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  17. ↑ Said, Mariam (2023-03-27). "Airtel hailed for 2Africa submarine cable project - Daily News". Daily News Tanzania. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  18. ↑ Gilbert, Paula (2023-08-17). "2Africa submarine cable lands in Mozambique". Connecting Africa. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  19. ↑ Gilbert, Paula (2023-02-15). "2Africa reaches the shores of Madagascar". Connecting Africa. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  20. ↑ Swinhoe, Dan (2023-02-17). "2Africa cable lands in Mozambique". Data Center Dynamics. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  21. ↑ "WIOCC lands world's largest subsea cable system in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa - WIOCC Group". 2023-02-08. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  22. ↑ "Vodacom lands 2Africa subsea cable in the Eastern Cape, South Africa - driving digital inclusion | Vodacom Group". www.vodacom.com. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  23. ↑ Swinhoe, Dan (2022-12-14). "Meta's 2Africa cable lands in MTN's South African cable landing stations in Yzerfontein and Duynefontein". Data Center Dynamics. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  24. ↑ Swinhoe, Dan (2023-08-03). "2Africa subsea cable lands in Luanda, Angola". Data Center Dynamics. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  25. ↑ "Orange DRC & Airtel Congo RDC have landed the 2Africa submarine cable in the Democratic Republic of Congo off Muanda through their joint venture Mawezi RDC SA". African Business. 2023-09-21. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  26. ↑ Swinhoe, Dan (2024-03-11). "Republic of Congo launches data center in Pointe-Noire for 2Africa cable". Data Center Dynamics. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  27. ↑ "MainOne Lands 2Africa Submarine Cable in Qua Iboe, Akwa Ibom State, Boosting Broadband Connectivity In South-South Nigeria". MainOne. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  28. 1 2 "Bayobab lands 2Africa subsea cable in Ghana and Nigeria to strengthen internet connectivity across West Africa". Bayobab. 2024-02-08. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  29. ↑ Ecofin, Agence. "Côte d'Ivoire : MTN annonce sa connexion au câble 2Africa". Agence Ecofin (in French). Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  30. ↑ Njoya, Samira. "Senegal: Meta's 2Africa subsea cable lands in Dakar". www.wearetech.africa. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  31. ↑ "Senegal to come online with 2Africa". www.africanwirelesscomms.com. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  32. ↑ Swinhoe, Dan (2023-12-15). "2Africa cable lands in Canary Islands". Data Center Dynamics. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  33. ↑ Donn, Natasha (2024-03-12). "World's largest subsea cable system 'lands in Carcavelos'". Portugal Resident. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  34. ↑ Haddon, Jack (2024-06-10). "Vodafone lands 2Africa in UK". Capacity Media. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  35. ↑ "2Africa Pearls subsea cable connects Africa, Europe, and Asia to bring affordable, high-speed internet to 3 billion people". Engineering at Meta. 2021-09-28. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  36. ↑ "Ooredoo to Land World's Largest Subsea Cable System, 2Africa Comes to Oman". Ooredoo. 2024-05-14. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  37. ↑ "Vodafone Connects Qatar to Worlds Largest Subsea Cable Project". www.qna.org.qa. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  38. ↑ Writer, Staff; TradeArabia. "Major subsea cable project links Bahrain". www.zawya.com. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  39. 1 2 Lipscombe, Paul (2024-04-11). "Iraq and Kuwait sign agreement to create telecoms route to Europe". Data Center Dynamics. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  40. ↑ "Iraq Enhances Internet Connectivity with New Undersea Cable Agreement | Iraq Business News". Iraq Business News. 2024-07-01. Retrieved 2024-07-10.
  41. ↑ "TWA Corporate Profile" (PDF). Transworld Associates. 2022-04-09. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  42. ↑ Swinhoe, Dan (2022-12-06). "Meta's 2Africa cable to land in Bharti Airtel's Mumbai cable landing station". Data Center Dynamics. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
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