2Africa is an international submarine telecommunications cable that circumnavigates the coastline of Africa to interconnect Europe and the Middle East.
Cable type | Fibre-optic |
---|---|
Design capacity | 180 Tbit/s (11.25 Tbit/s per fiber pair) |
Built by | Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks (ASN) |
Area served | Africa, Middle East, and Europe[1] |
Owner(s) | Consortium |
Website | www |
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
edit2Africa is funded by a consortium consisting of eight members, namely:[6]
- Meta Platforms
- China Mobile
- MTN Group
- Orange S.A.
- Saudi Telecom Company
- Telecom Egypt
- Vodafone Group Plc
- West Indian Ocean Cable Company
Open access model
editThe 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
editIn September 2021, 2Africa announced a new segment of the cable called '2Africa PEARLS', which extends to the Persian Gulf, India and Pakistan.[39]
Location | Operator & 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, Kuwait | KEMS Zajil Telecom[44] |
Al-Faw, Iraq | ITPC[45] |
Karachi, Pakistan | Transworld Associates[46] |
Mumbai, India | Bharti Airtel[47] |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Building 2Africa, a transformative subsea cable to better connect Africa". Facebook Engineering. 2020-05-14. Retrieved 2020-06-26.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b "FAQ | 2Africa". 2Africa Cable. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
- ^ Ahmad, Najam; Salvadori, Kevin (2020-05-13). "Building a transformative subsea cable to better connect Africa". Engineering at Meta. Retrieved 2024-09-09.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b Bannerman, Natalie (2023-05-02). "2Africa cable makes landfall in Jeddah and Yanbu, Saudi Arabia". Capacity Media. Retrieved 2024-09-09.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Dalkom secures €12 million loan to connect Somalia to 2Africa". Telecom Review Africa. 2021-09-13. Retrieved 2024-09-09.
- ^ "Intelvision's 2Africa cable system lands in Seychelles". www.nation.sc. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
- ^ Yadav, Niva (2024-06-14). "2Africa cable goes live between South Africa and Kenya". Data Center Dynamics. Retrieved 2024-09-09.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Facebook expresses interest to establish in Gabon – CEMAC ECO FINANCE". Retrieved 2024-09-09.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "e&'s Kalba Data Center to Anchor 2Africa Cable Landing". Telecom Review. 2024-02-05. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
- ^ "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.
- ^ Yadav, Niva (2024-11-13). "STC Group announces Bahrain data center park and inaugurates 2Africa extension". Data Center Dynamics. Retrieved 2024-11-14.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Transworld Associates to land world's largest subsea cable system in Pakistan". DAWN.COM. 2024-07-27. Retrieved 2024-08-29.
- ^ 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.