World's largest subsea cable 2Africa lands in Amanzimtoti

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WIOCC group chief executive officer, Chris Wood, commented:

We are pleased to be working with our partners in the 2Africa project, bringing faster, more reliable internet to local businesses and consumers, and making an enduring contribution to communications in Africa. The subsea cable system is enabling more communities to access transformative online resources, from education and healthcare to jobs and financial services, and experience the economic and social benefits of seamless connectivity.

Economic benefits

The 2Africa cable project was launched in May 2020 to significantly increase the capacity, quality and availability of internet connectivity between Africa and the rest of the world, and a recent study by RTI International predicts that within two to three years of becoming operational, 2Africa will spur economic impact worth $26.2bn to $36.9bn, equivalent to 0.42-0.58% of Africa’s GDP.

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The arrival of the 45,000km, 180 terabits per second (tbps) 2Africa cable system in Amanzimtoti, 25km south of Durban, will bring much-needed additional international capacity for internet and other services, support high-speed internet delivery and provide greater diversity, which will benefit businesses and individuals throughout South Africa.

Benefits of Amanzimtoti landing

• This landing, into OADC’s 4MW-capable open access OADC Durban facility in Amanzimtoti, is 2Africa’s fourth on the coast of South Africa - two in the Western Cape (Yzerfontein and Duynefontein) and one in the Eastern Cape (Gqeberha).
• Service uptime can be maximised by utilising this new OADC Durban-2Africa route for international traffic because, apart from the Metiss system, no other international cable lands in Amanzimtoti.
• Organisations can quickly and easily access 2Africa’s international connectivity to extend their operations in KZN and elsewhere in South Africa, as OADC Durban is open-access and carrier-neutral.

The cable system’s landing in Amanzimtoti also offers the potential for increased regional job creation in sectors that rely on direct international connectivity, such as data centres, call centres and software development, which can help contribute to both local and national socio-economic development.

About 2Africa

The 2Africa cable consortium partners are China Mobile International, Meta (formerly Facebook), MTN GlobalConnect, Orange, Center3 (Saudi telecom company), Telecom Egypt, Vodafone/Vodacom and Wiocc.

Manufactured and being deployed by Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN), the 45,000km 2Africa cable system has a design capacity of up to 180Tbps and will interconnect 33 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East when it is completed in 2024.