02 July 2024

Airtel Africa has activated the initial phase of the 2Africa submarine cable system by Airtel Telesonic, its wholesale fibre optic arm.

This stage links Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa. It was carried out in partnership with the company Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN) which was responsible for installing the infrastructure.

“This project highlights not only our commitment to investing in cutting-edge infrastructure, but also our desire to equip communities with the tools they need to thrive in the digital age. This is a significant milestone that highlights the power of collaboration and innovation to bring the world’s longest submarine cable system to Africa,” said Prasanta Das Sarma, managing director, Airtel Telesonic.

The 45,000km 2Africa system is expected to connect 33 countries in Africa, Europe and Asia. With a rated capacity of up to 180Tbps, the infrastructure is expected to provide enhanced connectivity to more than three billion people. In Africa, the cable is shared into two branches 2Africa West and 2Africa East which respectively serve the western and eastern parts of the continent.

The activation of this first phase of 2Africa should make it possible to strengthen the high-speed telecoms infrastructure along its route. This should allow partner telecom operators to improve the capacity and quality of their respective networks, but also resilience to recurring outages on other cables serving the region. This activation is also expected to strengthen Airtel Africa’s position in the African wholesale fibre market as part of the diversification of its activities and revenue sources.