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, Middle East, and Europe [1]
Owner(s)Consortium
Website www.2africacable.net

2Africa is an international submarine telecommunications cable that circumnavigates the coastline of Africa to interconnect Europe and the Middle East.

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. [2] [3] 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. [4]

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

The system is to be constructed by Alcatel Submarine Networks [5] and is intended to be operational in Q4 2024. [4]

Cable ownership

2Africa is funded by a consortium consisting of eight members, namely: [6]

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. [6] [7]

Landing points and operators

2Africa Cable Landing Points
LocationOperator & Technical Partner
Barcelona, SpainAFR-IX Telecom [8]
Marseille, France Vodafone Group Plc [9]
Genoa, Italy Vodafone Group Plc [10]
Tympaki, Greece Vodafone Group Plc [11]
Port Said, Egypt Telecom Egypt [12]
Ras Ghareb, Egypt
Duba, Saudi Arabia Saudi Telecom Company [13]
Yanbu, Saudi Arabia Saudi Telecom Company [14]
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Djibouti City, Djibouti Djibouti Telecom [15]
Berbera, Somaliland SomCable [16]
Mogadishu, SomaliaDalkom Somalia [17]
Victoria, SeychellesIntelvision [18]
Mtwapa, Kenya Airtel Kenya [19]
Mombasa, Kenya
Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania Airtel Tanzania [20]
Nacala, Mozambique Vodacom Mozambique [21]
Mahajanga, MadagascarTelma Madagascar [22]
Maputo, Mozambique Vodacom Mozambique [23]
Amanzimtoti, South Africa West Indian Ocean Cable Company [24]
Gqeberha, South Africa Vodacom [25]
Yzerfontein, South Africa MTN Group [26]
Duynefontein, South Africa
Luanda, Angola Unitel Angola [27]
Moanda, DR Congo Orange RDC, Airtel DRC [28] [29]
Pointe-Noire, DR Congo
Libreville, Gabon Airtel Gabon [30]
Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria MainOne (Equinix) [31]
Lagos, Nigeria Bayobab (MTN Group) [32]
Accra, Ghana Bayobab (MTN Group) [32]
Abidjan, Ivory Coast MTN Group [33]
Dakar, Senegal Sonatel [34] [35]
Telde, Canary Islands Vodafone Group Plc [36]
Carcavelos, Portugal Vodafone Group Plc [37]
Bude, United Kingdom Vodafone Group Plc [38]

In September 2021, 2Africa announced a new segment of the cable called '2Africa PEARLS', which extends to the Persian Gulf, India and Pakistan. [39]

2Africa PEARLS Branch
LocationOperator & Technical Partner
Kalba, UAE Etisalat by e& [40]
Barka, Oman Ooredoo Oman [41]
Salalah, Oman
Doha, Qatar Vodafone Qatar [42]
Manama, Bahrain Saudi Telecom Company [43]
Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia Saudi Telecom Company [13]
Kuwait City, KuwaitKEMS Zajil Telecom [44]
Al-Faw, Iraq ITPC [45]
Karachi, Pakistan Transworld Associates [46]
Mumbai, India Bharti Airtel [47]

See also

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