Telecom Egypt and Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN) announced the successful landing of the Africa-1 subsea cable system at the first of two planned landing points in Egypt on Wednesday. The landing occurred at the Ras Ghareb cable landing station, located on Egypt’s Red Sea coast. A second landing station is set to be established in Port Said on the Mediterranean coast, linking Africa-1 to Marseille, France, and Bejaia, Algeria, utilizing new terrestrial routes between the two locations.
The Africa-1 cable, being constructed and deployed by ASN, is designed to connect Marseille and Bejaia to Karachi, Pakistan, with planned initial landing points in the United Arab Emirates, Kenya, Djibouti, Yemen, Sudan, and Saudi Arabia. There are also future plans to extend the cable southward from Kenya to Tanzania, Mozambique, and South Africa, as well as to Tunisia and Italy on the Mediterranean side.
The Ras Ghareb landing marks the third completion of the project, following earlier landings in Karachi and Mombasa. Africa-1 is expected to be ready for service sometime next year, featuring eight fiber pairs that will not only provide additional capacity but also enhance diversity and resiliency, particularly along the Red Sea route, which has faced recurring cable cuts throughout 2024.
Mohamed Nasr, MD and CEO of Telecom Egypt, stated, “By making additional subsea routes available in the growing markets of the Middle East, Asia, and Africa, this system will boost broadband capabilities and expand our subsea network to meet the rising demand for reliable, high-speed communications, especially for bandwidth-intensive applications such as artificial intelligence.”
In addition to Telecom Egypt, Africa-1 is co-owned by several partners, including Algerie Telecom, e&, G42, Mobily, Pakistan Telecommunications Company Ltd (PTCL), TeleYemen, and ZOI.
