List of terrestrial fibre optic cable projects in Africa
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This is a list of terrestrial fibre optic cable projects in Africa. While submarine communications cables are used to connect countries and continents to the Internet, terrestrial fibre optic cables are used to extend this connectivity to landlocked countries or to urban centers within a country that has submarine cable access. In most of the world, a large number of such cables exist, often amounting to robust Internet backbones. The lack of such high-speed cables poses a great problem for most African countries. The construction of both submarine cables and their terrestrial extensions is thus considered an important step to economic growth and development to many African countries.
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Countries
Algeria
| Operator | Started | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| Algérie Télécom | 2011 | About 200,000 km (120,000 mi) of fiber optic cables had been deployed as of December 31, 2021. | [1][2][3] |
Angola
Benin
Botswana
Burkina Faso
| Operator | Started | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bharti Airtel | [19] | ||
| Group Vivendi Africa | 2021 | [20][21] | |
| Onatel | 2020 | State-run | [21] |
| Orange S.A. | 2021 | [19][21][22] |
Burundi
Cameroon
Chad
Cote d'Ivoire
Democratic Republic of Congo
Djibouti
| Operator | Started | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| Djibouti Telecom | 2007 | Government-run | [38] |
| SEACOM | [24] |
Egypt
| Operator | Started | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sudatel | [39] | ||
| Telecom Egypt | [39] |
eSwatini
Ethiopia
| Operator | Started | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ethio telecom | [41] |
Gambia
| Operator | Started | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gamtel | 2010 |
Ghana
| Operator | Started | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| AirtelTigo | 2017 | Merger of Tigo and Bharti Airtel | |
| Expresso Telecom Ghana | |||
| MTN Ghana | |||
| National Communications Backbone Company | NCBC is a subsidiary of Vodafone Ghana. | ||
| Orange S.A. | [22] | ||
| Tigo | Merged with Bharti Airtel in 2017 to become AirtelTigo. |
Guinea
| Operator | Started | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orange S.A. | [citation needed] |
Kenya
| Operator | Started | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| AccessKenya Group | |||
| Airtel Kenya | |||
| Jamii Telecom | |||
| Kenya Data Networks | |||
| Kenya Power | |||
| National Optical Fibre Backbone Infrastructure | |||
| Safaricom | |||
| SEACOM | [24] | ||
| Telkom Kenya | [42] |
Liberia
| Operator | Started | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orange S.A. | [22] |
Madagascar
| Operator | Started | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| Telecom Malagasy (Telma) |
Malawi
| Operator | Started | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| Malawi Telecommunications | MTL appears to have completed its domestic fibre optic network in early 2012. | [43] | |
| Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi |
Mali
| Operator | Started | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gouvernement du Mali | In 2011, the Malian government announced a 942 km fibre optic cable project linking Bamako-Gao-Kidal-Tin-Zaoutière to the Algerian border and Gap-Ansongo-Labezanga to the border of Niger. The project was funded by a $45 million loan from the Exim Bank of China. | [44] | |
| Orange S.A. | [45][22] | ||
| Sotelma/Malitel | [46] |
Mauritania
Morocco
| Operator | Started | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maroc Telecom | 60% of regional fibre network completed in 2010. | [49] |
Mozambique
| Operator | Started | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| Telecomunicações de Moçambique |
Namibia
| Operator | Started | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| NamPower | |||
| Paratus Africa | Various fiber projects deployed since 2011. Full FTTx deployment in various towns. Cross-country backhaul fiber from WACS (West Africa Cable Landing Station) through Namibia connecting various land-locked countries around Namibia.[citation needed] | ||
| Telecom Namibia | [50] |
Niger
| Operator | Started | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| SONITEL |
Nigeria
| Operator | Started | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21st Century Technology | |||
| Globacom | [51][52] | ||
| MTN Group Nigeria | |||
| Multi-Links | Purchased by Helios in 2011; at this time, Multi-Links had a terrestrial fibre optic network spanning 8,232 km in Nigeria. | [53][54][55] | |
| NITEL | |||
| Orange S.A. | [22] | ||
| Phase3 Telecom | In 2011, Phase3 were building the West Africa One network, an aerial optic fibre transmission system which runs from Nigeria to Benin and Togo. | [56][57] | |
| Suburban Telecoms | Backbone Connectivity Network (Nig) Limited has built over 5,000 km of fiber optic networks in Northern Nigeria, comprising metropolitan fiber networks and long distance backbone networks especially in Abuja and North West Nigeria. it is the largest broadband connectivity operator providing high capacity internet services, data transmission services and solutions and access to all the data centres in Nigeria. it is currently expanding its footprint to cover the whole country.
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Rwanda
| Operator | Started | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| Green Future | 2009 | [58] | |
| MTN Group Rwanda | |||
| Rwanda Development Board | The physical deployment of the RDB's network was completed in January 2011. | [59][60] | |
| Rwandatel | |||
| SEACOM | Partnered with KT Corporation | [24] |
Senegal
| Operator | Started | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orange S.A. | [22] | ||
| Sonatel | [61] |
Somalia
| Operator | Started | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hormuud Telecom/Liquid Telecom | 2013 | [62] | |
| SEACOM | [24] | ||
| SomCable | Licensed with 25 years of exclusivity for Metro and Backbone fiber optic infrastructure building.[citation needed] |
South Africa
| Operator | Started | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broadband Infraco | Broadband Infraco is a South African State Owned Entity (SOE) that is intended to participate in those segments of the telecommunications market and value chain that impede private sector development and innovation in telecoms services and content offerings. Broadband Infraco maintains a national long distance fibre optic network, providing high capacity telecommunication services between all major national metropolitan centres and being expanded to enable connectivity to reach smaller cities and rural areas. | [63] | |
| BWired | Announced in August 2011, BWired invested $600 million in regional fibre infrastructure. | [64] | |
| Dark Fibre Africa | Community Investment Ventures (CIV) and VenFin are the principal shareholders in DFA. ABSA Capital, who are a stakeholder in CIV via New GX Capital Holdings, also backs CIV. Shareholders in Dark Fibre Africa have granted the necessary approvals to adequately capitalize the company for the construction of a nationwide Dark Fibre Infrastructure. This funding exceeded R2Bn by 2013. | [65] | |
| Fibreco | 2012 | Established in 2009 as an equal partnership between CellC, Internet Solutions and Convergence Partners. | [66][67] |
| Neotel | |||
| NLD Consortium | A consortium made up of Neotel, MTN Group, and Vodacom deployed a national fibre network in South Africa in 2012. | [68] | |
| Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa | In 2013, PRASA announced plans to lease excess fibre capacity. | [69] | |
| Telkom | Telkom is the dominant operator and has the largest fibre network in South Africa, covering approximately 143,000 km as per the 2011 annual report. | [70][71] |
South Sudan
Sudan
Tanzania
| Operator | Started | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consortium | A consortium of TIGO, Zantel, Vodacom, and Airtel. | ||
| CTV | Fiber to the building, mainly in Dar es Salaam.[citation needed] | ||
| National Information & Communication Technology Broadband Backbone (NICTBB) | 2010 | Funded by a soft loan from the Chinese government, the NICTBB is being built by the Tanzanian government and will be operated by the Tanzania Telecommunications Corporation | [73][74] |
| Raha/Liquid Telecom | Metro fiber - Dar es Salaam.[citation needed] | ||
| SEACOM | [24] | ||
| SimbaNET | Metro fiber - Dar es Salaam.[citation needed] | ||
| TANESCO |
Togo
| Operator | Started | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phase3 Telecom | 2009 | [13] | |
| Togo Telecom | [75] |
Uganda
| Operator | Started | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ministry of Information and Communications Technology/National Information Technology Authority-Uganda | |||
| SEACOM | 2009 | [24][76] | |
| Uganda Telecom |
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Notes
This list was initially developed as part of AfTerFibre,[85] a project to map terrestrial fibre optic cable projects in Africa. The project was sponsored by Google Africa and, on completion, will be hosted by the UbuntuNet Alliance. All information gathered by the project will be publicly available under an open license.[citation needed]
See also
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- List of international submarine communications cables
- National broadband plans from around the world
- Central African Backbone
- Kenya Data Networks
- Telecommunications in Namibia
- Internet in Ethiopia
- People's Republic of China – Ghana relations
- Wireless Internet service provider
- Telecommunications in Rwanda