Wikipedia

2Africa

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

2Africa
Cable typeFibre-optic
Design capacity180 Tbit/s (11.25 Tbit/s per fiber pair)
Built byAlcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks (ASN)
Area servedAfrica, Middle East, and Europe[1]
Owner(s)Consortium
Websitewww.2africacable.net

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

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

Open access model

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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

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2Africa Cable Landing Points
Location Operator & Technical Partner
Barcelona, Spain AFR-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, Somalia Dalkom Somalia[17]
Victoria, Seychelles Intelvision[18]
Mtwapa, Kenya Airtel Kenya[19]
Mombasa, Kenya
Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania Airtel Tanzania[20]
Nacala, Mozambique Vodacom Mozambique[21]
Mahajanga, Madagascar Telma 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
Location Operator & Technical Partner
Kalba, UAE Etisalat by e&[40]
Barka, Oman Ooredoo Oman[41]
Salalah, Oman
Doha, Qatar Vodafone Qatar[42]
Manama, Bahrain Batelco[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

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References

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