2Africa

Last updated
2Africa
Cable typeFibre-optic
Design capacity180 Tbit/s (11.25 Tbit/s per fiber pair)
Built byAlcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks (ASN)
Area served Africa, Asia, and Europe [1]
Owner(s)Consortium
Website www.2africacable.net

2Africa is an international submarine telecommunications cable that interconnects Africa and further connects Asia and Europe. It passes from Europe through the Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean, and then back into Europe via the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. [2]

Contents

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

The system is to be constructed by Alcatel Submarine Networks [5] and is intended to be operational in Q4 2025. [4] In November 2025, Meta announced that the core 2Africa system was completed. [6]

Cable ownership

2Africa is funded by a consortium consisting of eight members, namely: [7]

Open access model

The consortium has mandated that every operator of 2Africa must provide effective access to the international capacity at reasonable prices and on non-discriminatory terms. Cable landing station operators can be penalized and even completely disconnected from the 2Africa system if they fail to provide access to capacity at their landing points. [7] [8]

Landing points and operators

2Africa Cable Landing Points
LocationOperator & Technical Partner
Barcelona, Spain AFR-IX Telecom [9]
Marseille, France Vodafone Group Plc [10]
Genoa, Italy Vodafone Group Plc [11]
Tympaki, Greece Vodafone Group Plc [12]
Port Said, Egypt Telecom Egypt [13]
Ras Ghareb, Egypt
Duba, Saudi Arabia Saudi Telecom Company [14]
Yanbu, Saudi Arabia Saudi Telecom Company [15]
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Djibouti City, Djibouti Djibouti Telecom [16]
Berbera, Somaliland SomCable [17]
Mogadishu, SomaliaDalkom Somalia [18]
Victoria, SeychellesIntelvision [19]
Mtwapa, Kenya Airtel Kenya [20]
Mombasa, Kenya
Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania Airtel Tanzania [21]
Nacala, Mozambique Vodacom Mozambique [22]
Mahajanga, MadagascarTelma Madagascar [23]
Maputo, Mozambique Vodacom Mozambique [24]
Amanzimtoti, South Africa West Indian Ocean Cable Company [25]
Gqeberha, South Africa Vodacom [26]
Yzerfontein, South Africa MTN Group [27]
Duynefontein, South Africa
Luanda, Angola Unitel Angola [28]
Moanda, DR Congo Orange RDC, Airtel DRC [29] [30]
Pointe-Noire, DR Congo
Libreville, Gabon Airtel Gabon [31]
Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria MainOne (Equinix) [32]
Lagos, Nigeria Bayobab (MTN Group) [33]
Accra, Ghana Bayobab (MTN Group) [33]
Abidjan, Ivory Coast MTN Group [34]
Dakar, Senegal Sonatel [35] [36]
Telde, Canary Islands Vodafone Group Plc [37]
Carcavelos, Portugal Vodafone Group Plc [38]
Bude, United Kingdom Vodafone Group Plc [39]

In September 2021, 2Africa announced a new segment of the cable called '2Africa PEARLS', which extends to the Persian Gulf, India and Pakistan. [40]

2Africa PEARLS Branch
LocationOperator & Technical Partner
Kalba, UAE Etisalat by e& [41]
Barka, Oman Ooredoo Oman [42]
Salalah, Oman
Doha, Qatar Vodafone Qatar [43]
Manama, Bahrain Saudi Telecom Company [44]
Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia Saudi Telecom Company [14]
Kuwait City, KuwaitKEMS Zajil Telecom [45]
Al-Faw, Iraq ITPC [46]
Karachi, Pakistan Transworld Associates [47]
Mumbai, India Bharti Airtel [48]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Building 2Africa, a transformative subsea cable to better connect Africa". Facebook Engineering. 2020-05-14. Retrieved 2020-06-26.
  2. 1 2 Chanthadavong, Aimee. "Facebook to build a subsea cable to improve connectivity in Africa". ZDNet. Retrieved 2020-05-15.
  3. ↑ Vermeulen, Jan (9 December 2022). "Facebook's massive undersea cable lands in South Africa". MyBroadband. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  4. 1 2 "2Africa - Submarine Networks". www.submarinenetworks.com. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  5. ↑ "2Africa: New mega subsea cable to connect continent - TechCentral". techcentral.co.za. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
  6. ↑ "Announcing the Completion of the Core 2Africa System: Building the Future of Connectivity Together". Engineering at Meta. 2025-11-18. Retrieved 2025-12-15.
  7. 1 2 "FAQ | 2Africa". 2Africa Cable. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  8. ↑ Ahmad, Najam; Salvadori, Kevin (2020-05-13). "Building a transformative subsea cable to better connect Africa". Engineering at Meta. Retrieved 2024-09-09.
  9. ↑ 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.
  10. ↑ "2Africa cable lands in Marseille, France to strengthen interconnectivity with Africa". vodafone.com. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  11. ↑ "2Africa Subsea Cable Makes First Landing in Genoa, Italy". Meta. 2022-04-14. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  12. ↑ "Vodafone links Crete to the 2Africa subsea cable system". Vodafone.com. Retrieved 2025-02-20.
  13. ↑ "2Africa Subsea Cable Segment in Egypt Completed with Port Said Landing". ir.te.eg. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  14. 1 2 Bannerman, Natalie (2023-05-02). "2Africa cable makes landfall in Jeddah and Yanbu, Saudi Arabia". Capacity Media. Retrieved 2024-09-09.
  15. ↑ kcl@rk (2023-05-03). "2Africa Subsea Cable Lands in Jeddah and Yanbu". SubTel Forum. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  16. ↑ "DJIBOUTI TELECOM WELCOMES THE NEW 2AFRICA SUBMARINE CABLE". Djibouti Telecom . 2022-05-16. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  17. ↑ Staff (2022-05-29). "2 Africa Cable Lands In Berbera with SOMCABLE submarine Network". Somaliland Chronicle. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  18. ↑ "Dalkom secures €12 million loan to connect Somalia to 2Africa". Telecom Review Africa. 2021-09-13. Retrieved 2024-09-09.
  19. ↑ "Intelvision's 2Africa cable system lands in Seychelles". www.nation.sc. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  20. ↑ Yadav, Niva (2024-06-14). "2Africa cable goes live between South Africa and Kenya". Data Center Dynamics. Retrieved 2024-09-09.
  21. ↑ Said, Mariam (2023-03-27). "Airtel hailed for 2Africa submarine cable project - Daily News". Daily News Tanzania. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  22. ↑ Gilbert, Paula (2023-08-17). "2Africa submarine cable lands in Mozambique". Connecting Africa. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  23. ↑ Gilbert, Paula (2023-02-15). "2Africa reaches the shores of Madagascar". Connecting Africa. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  24. ↑ Swinhoe, Dan (2023-02-17). "2Africa cable lands in Mozambique". Data Center Dynamics. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  25. ↑ "WIOCC lands world's largest subsea cable system in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa - WIOCC Group". 2023-02-08. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  26. ↑ "Vodacom lands 2Africa subsea cable in the Eastern Cape, South Africa - driving digital inclusion | Vodacom Group". www.vodacom.com. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  27. ↑ 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.
  28. ↑ Swinhoe, Dan (2023-08-03). "2Africa subsea cable lands in Luanda, Angola". Data Center Dynamics. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  29. ↑ "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.
  30. ↑ Swinhoe, Dan (2024-03-11). "Republic of Congo launches data center in Pointe-Noire for 2Africa cable". Data Center Dynamics. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  31. ↑ "Facebook expresses interest to establish in Gabon – CEMAC ECO FINANCE" . Retrieved 2024-09-09.
  32. ↑ "MainOne Lands 2Africa Submarine Cable in Qua Iboe, Akwa Ibom State, Boosting Broadband Connectivity In South-South Nigeria". MainOne. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  33. 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.
  34. ↑ Ecofin, Agence. "Côte d'Ivoire : MTN annonce sa connexion au câble 2Africa". Agence Ecofin (in French). Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  35. ↑ Njoya, Samira. "Senegal: Meta's 2Africa subsea cable lands in Dakar". www.wearetech.africa. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  36. ↑ "Senegal to come online with 2Africa". www.africanwirelesscomms.com. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  37. ↑ Swinhoe, Dan (2023-12-15). "2Africa cable lands in Canary Islands". Data Center Dynamics. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  38. ↑ Donn, Natasha (2024-03-12). "World's largest subsea cable system 'lands in Carcavelos'". Portugal Resident. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  39. ↑ Haddon, Jack (2024-06-10). "Vodafone lands 2Africa in UK". Capacity Media. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  40. ↑ "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.
  41. ↑ "e&'s Kalba Data Center to Anchor 2Africa Cable Landing". Telecom Review. 2024-02-05. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
  42. ↑ "Ooredoo to Land World's Largest Subsea Cable System, 2Africa Comes to Oman". Ooredoo. 2024-05-14. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  43. ↑ "Vodafone Connects Qatar to Worlds Largest Subsea Cable Project". www.qna.org.qa. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  44. ↑ "A mega milestone in the Kingdom's digital transformation and global connectivity". www.stc.com.bh. 2025-06-13. Retrieved 2025-07-24.
  45. ↑ Lipscombe, Paul (2024-04-11). "Iraq and Kuwait sign agreement to create telecoms route to Europe". Data Center Dynamics. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  46. ↑ "Iraq Enhances Internet Connectivity with New Undersea Cable Agreement | Iraq Business News". Iraq Business News. 2024-07-01. Retrieved 2024-07-10.
  47. ↑ "Transworld Associates to land world's largest subsea cable system in Pakistan". DAWN.COM. 2024-07-27. Retrieved 2024-08-29.
  48. ↑ Hawkins, Nadine (2025-03-27). "Bharti Airtel lands 2Africa Pearls cable in India with Meta and center3". Capacity Media. Retrieved 2025-04-01.
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