Etihad Etisalat (Mobily) announced that it has successfully landed the Africa-1 subsea cable in Duba, marking a significant milestone for Saudi Arabia as a key international data exchange hub. The Africa-1 cable, which runs from Pakistan to France via the Red Sea, features landing points in Kenya, Djibouti, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt.
The 10,000-km cable, built by Alcatel Submarine Networks, is equipped with eight fibre pairs and a designed capacity of 96 Tbps. The cable’s high-speed data capabilities will play a crucial role in powering 5G networks, artificial intelligence systems, IoT devices, and cloud services, further accelerating digital transformation.
Mobily’s CEO, Salman Al-Badran, emphasized that the Africa-1 cable will enhance regional and international connectivity while unlocking new business opportunities in emerging markets. He highlighted that the cable is essential for supporting bandwidth-intensive applications and the growth of 5G and AI technologies.
In addition to Mobily, other investors in the Africa-1 project include Etisalat UAE, G42, Omantel, Pakistan Telecommunications Company Ltd (PTCL), TeleYemen, and Telecom Egypt. Although initially expected to be ready for service in 2023, the cable is now projected to be fully operational by early 2026.
