2Africa consortium completes subsea cable system linking Africa, Europe, Asia, Middle East
Updated 11/19/2025 11:45:00 AM
Arab Finance: Telecom Egypt announced the completion of the core 2Africa subsea cable system, developed through a consortium that includes Bayobab, center3, China Mobile International, Meta, Orange, Vodafone Group, and WIOCC, as per a disclosure.
The system marks the end of the construction phase of one of the region’s major subsea cable projects aimed at expanding international connectivity across Africa and other regions.
The 2Africa cable is the first to directly connect East and West Africa through a continuous system and also links the continent to the Middle East, South Asia, and Europe.
The system includes landings in more than 33 countries and is designed to support connectivity for an estimated 3 billion people, representing over 30% of the global population.
The cable increases available international bandwidth for Africa.
On the West segment—from England to South Africa—2Africa supports 21 Tbps per fiber pair with eight fiber pairs on the trunk, totaling 168 Tbps.
In the Mediterranean, the shorter distances allow more than 30 Tbps per fiber pair, and with 16 fiber pairs, capacity exceeds 180 Tbps.
In Egypt, the system lands on the Red Sea at Ras Ghareb and on the Mediterranean at Port Said.
The landing points are connected through two trans-Egypt terrestrial routes adjacent to the Suez Canal.
The infrastructure also includes a Red Sea subsea festoon linking Ras Ghareb, Zafarana, and Suez, adding route diversity. The crossing solution uses next-generation fiber technology to enable optical paths between Africa, Asia, and Europe.
According to the consortium, the added capacity is expected to contribute up to $36.9 billion to Africa’s GDP within the first two to three years of operation by supporting job creation and the development of digital services.
With the Pearls extension, 2Africa will span 45,000 kilometers.
The project was executed over nearly six years across 50 jurisdictions and required coordination with regulators and policymakers.
The system uses spatial division multiplexing technology and undersea optical wavelength switching to manage bandwidth demand associated with AI, cloud services, and high-capacity applications.
It also incorporates deeper cable burial and routes selected to avoid seabed hazards.
More than 35 offshore vessels and multiple local operations took part in the installation.
Telecom Egypt said the completion of 2Africa aligns with its plans to expand international infrastructure capacity and strengthen Egypt’s role as a connectivity hub linking Africa with global markets.
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