2Africa

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

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]

Open access model

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

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
Location Operator & 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, Somalia Dalkom Somalia[18]
Victoria, Seychelles Intelvision[19]
Mtwapa, Kenya Airtel Kenya[20]
Mombasa, Kenya
Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania Airtel Tanzania[21]
Nacala, Mozambique Vodacom Mozambique[22]
Mahajanga, Madagascar Telma 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]

In early 2026, the 2Africa subsea cable system was declared fully complete and activated, marking its transition into the world's largest operational open-access undersea cable. The system provides a design capacity of 180 Tbps across 46 landing points in Africa, Europe, and Asia, with initial economic assessments suggesting a significant impact on the GDP of connected African nations.[41]

2Africa PEARLS Branch
Location Operator & Technical Partner
Kalba, UAE Etisalat by e&[42]
Barka, Oman Ooredoo Oman[43]
Salalah, Oman
Doha, Qatar Vodafone Qatar[44]
Manama, Bahrain Saudi Telecom Company[45]
Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia Saudi Telecom Company[14]
Kuwait City, Kuwait KEMS Zajil Telecom[46]
Al-Faw, Iraq ITPC[47]
Karachi, Pakistan Transworld Associates[48]
Mumbai, India Bharti Airtel[49]

See also

References

External links

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