This archive report was first published on 16 May 2020.
Published on May 16, 2020, the 2Africa project is a collaborative effort between telecommunications companies, including China Mobile International, Facebook, MTN GlobalConnect, Orange, Stc, Telecom Egypt, Vodafone, and WIOCC.
The project involves the construction of a 37,000-kilometre subsea cable that will link Kenya and Tanzania to Europe and the Middle East, with the goal of delivering more than the total combined capacity of all subsea cables serving Africa today.
The 2Africa cable is expected to go live in 2023, with a design capacity of up to 180 terabytes per second on key parts of the system. This will enable the growth of 4G, 5G, and fixed broadband access for hundreds of millions of people across Africa.
According to the project's statement, service providers in countries where the 2Africa cable will land will obtain capacity in carrier-neutral data centres or open-access cable landing stations on a fair and equitable basis.
This will support the development of a healthy internet ecosystem, facilitating greatly improved accessibility for businesses and consumers alike.
