stc, a leading Middle Eastern telecom and digital infrastructure provider, has successfully landed the 2Africa Pearls subsea cable in Bahrain. This cable is part of the 2Africa system, which upon completion will be the world’s longest subsea cable, stretching over 45,000 kilometers and linking Asia, Africa, and Europe via the Middle East.
This landing marks the third major subsea cable deployment in the MENA region recently, alongside Egypt’s SEA-ME-WE 6 cable landings and the Oman Emirates Gateway (OEG) cable connecting the UAE and Oman.
According to stc, “2Africa Pearls is the only cable in the GCC capable of supporting the growing demands of data-heavy applications such as content streaming, cloud computing, and gaming.” The cable’s vast capacity and low latency will catalyze innovation in emerging technologies including 5G, AI, and IoT, providing vital infrastructure for data-intensive services.
The live landing took place near Bahrain’s Seef District, witnessed by H.E. Dr. Shaikh Abdullah bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications, and Eng. Khalid Al Osaimi, CEO of stc Bahrain.
Eng. Khalid Al Osaimi stated, “Landing 2Africa Pearls in Bahrain increases our connectivity capacity tenfold and offers scalability for future growth. This aligns with our commitment to positioning Bahrain as a premier communications and digital hub, supporting Bahrain’s Economic Vision 2030 and the ICT sector’s goal of a diversified, knowledge-based economy.”
The 2Africa cable system consortium includes Bayobab, center3, China Mobile International, Meta, Orange, Telecom Egypt, Vodafone Group, and WIOCC. Alcatel Submarine Networks is responsible for the cable’s manufacturing and installation.
