2Africa
Cable type | Fibre-optic |
---|---|
Design capacity | 180 Tbit/s |
Built by | Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks (ASN) |
Area served | Africa, Middle East, and Europe[1] |
Website | www |
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]
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]
- Meta Platforms
- China Mobile
- MTN Group
- Orange S.A.
- Saudi Telecom Company
- Vodafone Group Plc
- West Indian Ocean Cable Company
Landing points and operators
Location | Operator & Technical Partner |
---|---|
Barcelona, Spain | AFR-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, Seychelles | Intelvision[16] |
Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania | Airtel Africa[17] |
Nacala, Mozambique | Vodacom Mozambique[18] |
Mahajanga, Madagascar | Telma 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]
Location | Operator & Technical Partner |
---|---|
Barka, Oman Salalah, Oman | Ooredoo Oman[36] |
Doha, Qatar | Vodafone Qatar[37] |
Manama, Bahrain | Batelco, Saudi Telecom Company[38] |
Kuwait City, Kuwait | KEMS Zajil Telecom[39] |
Al-Faw, Iraq | ITPC,[39] Saudi Telecom Company[40] |
Karachi, Pakistan | Transworld Associates[41] |
Mumbai, India | Bharti Airtel[42] |
See also
References
- ^ "Building 2Africa, a transformative subsea cable to better connect Africa". Facebook Engineering. 2020-05-14. Retrieved 2020-06-26.
- ^ a b "FAQ | 2Africa". 2Africa Cable. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
- ^ a b Chanthadavong, Aimee. "Facebook to build a subsea cable to improve connectivity in Africa". ZDNet. Retrieved 2020-05-15.
- ^ Vermeulen, Jan (9 December 2022). "Facebook's massive undersea cable lands in South Africa". MyBroadband. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
- ^ a b "2Africa - Submarine Networks". www.submarinenetworks.com. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
- ^ "2Africa: New mega subsea cable to connect continent - TechCentral". techcentral.co.za. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "2Africa cable lands in Marseille, France to strengthen interconnectivity with Africa". vodafone.com. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
- ^ "2Africa Subsea Cable Makes First Landing in Genoa, Italy". Meta. 2022-04-14. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
- ^ "2Africa cable comes to Crete". Vodafone.com. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
- ^ "2Africa Subsea Cable Segment in Egypt Completed with Port Said Landing". ir.te.eg. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
- ^ "2Africa Lands in Ras Ghareb, Egypt". ir.te.eg. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
- ^ kcl@rk (2023-05-03). "2Africa Subsea Cable Lands in Jeddah and Yanbu". SubTel Forum. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
- ^ "DJIBOUTI TELECOM WELCOMES THE NEW 2AFRICA SUBMARINE CABLE". Djibouti Telecom. 2022-05-16. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
- ^ Staff (2022-05-29). "2 Africa Cable Lands In Berbera with SOMCABLE submarine Network". Somaliland Chronicle. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
- ^ "Intelvision's 2Africa cable system lands in Seychelles". www.nation.sc. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
- ^ Said, Mariam (2023-03-27). "Airtel hailed for 2Africa submarine cable project - Daily News". Daily News Tanzania. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
- ^ Gilbert, Paula (2023-08-17). "2Africa submarine cable lands in Mozambique". Connecting Africa. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
- ^ Gilbert, Paula (2023-02-15). "2Africa reaches the shores of Madagascar". Connecting Africa. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
- ^ Swinhoe, Dan (2023-02-17). "2Africa cable lands in Mozambique". Data Center Dynamics. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
- ^ "WIOCC lands world's largest subsea cable system in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa - WIOCC Group". 2023-02-08. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
- ^ "Vodacom lands 2Africa subsea cable in the Eastern Cape, South Africa - driving digital inclusion | Vodacom Group". www.vodacom.com. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Swinhoe, Dan (2023-08-03). "2Africa subsea cable lands in Luanda, Angola". Data Center Dynamics. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
- ^ "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.
- ^ Swinhoe, Dan (2024-03-11). "Republic of Congo launches data center in Pointe-Noire for 2Africa cable". Data Center Dynamics. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
- ^ "MainOne Lands 2Africa Submarine Cable in Qua Iboe, Akwa Ibom State, Boosting Broadband Connectivity In South-South Nigeria". MainOne. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
- ^ a b "Bayobab lands 2Africa subsea cable in Ghana and Nigeria to strengthen internet connectivity across West Africa". Bayobab. 2024-02-08. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
- ^ Ecofin, Agence. "Côte d'Ivoire : MTN annonce sa connexion au câble 2Africa". Agence Ecofin (in French). Retrieved 2024-06-19.
- ^ Njoya, Samira. "Senegal: Meta's 2Africa subsea cable lands in Dakar". www.wearetech.africa. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
- ^ "Senegal to come online with 2Africa". www.africanwirelesscomms.com. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
- ^ Swinhoe, Dan (2023-12-15). "2Africa cable lands in Canary Islands". Data Center Dynamics. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
- ^ Donn, Natasha (2024-03-12). "World's largest subsea cable system 'lands in Carcavelos'". Portugal Resident. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
- ^ Haddon, Jack (2024-06-10). "Vodafone lands 2Africa in UK". Capacity Media. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Ooredoo to Land World's Largest Subsea Cable System, 2Africa Comes to Oman". Ooredoo. 2024-05-14. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
- ^ "Vodafone Connects Qatar to Worlds Largest Subsea Cable Project". www.qna.org.qa. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
- ^ Writer, Staff; TradeArabia. "Major subsea cable project links Bahrain". www.zawya.com. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
- ^ a b Lipscombe, Paul (2024-04-11). "Iraq and Kuwait sign agreement to create telecoms route to Europe". Data Center Dynamics. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
- ^ "Iraq Enhances Internet Connectivity with New Undersea Cable Agreement | Iraq Business News". Iraq Business News. 2024-07-01. Retrieved 2024-07-10.
- ^ "TWA Corporate Profile" (PDF). Transworld Associates. 2022-04-09. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
- ^ 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.
External links
- Official website
- Press Release with Map on Businesswire
- Facebook Engineering 2Africa page
- v
- t
- e
- 2Africa
- AC-2
- AEConnect
- Africa Coast to Europe
- ALBA-1
- AMX-1
- ANTILLAS I
- ARCOS-1
- Americas II
- Apollo
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- ULYSSES
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- VSNL Northern Europe
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- West Africa Cable System