2Africa, the world's largest undersea cable, landed in Amanzimtoti, KwaZulu-Natal, and is expected to be the catalyst to drive the region’s digital economy. The massive subsea cable, which will connect Africa, Europe and Asia, has already landed in some parts of the country, and KwaZulu-Natal became the latest shore to welcome the 2Africa cable.
The 2Africa subsea cable system landed at the Vodacom network facility in Gqeberha, Eastern Cape. In December, Vodacom’s competitor, MTN SA and MTN GlobalConnect — also 2Africa landing partners — announced the landing of the cable in Yzerfontein and Duynefontein, Western Cape.
The cable is expected to land in 40 new locations in the coming months. The 2Africa consortium is comprised of China Mobile International, Meta, MTN GlobalConnect, Orange, STC, Telecom Egypt, Vodafone and WIOCC.
Moreover, the highly anticipated subsea cable system is set to connect three billion people upon completion, representing 36% of the global population and connecting three continents: Africa, Europe and Asia. At 45,000 km, 2Africa will be the longest subsea cable ever deployed, serving communities that rely on the internet for services ranging from education to healthcare and business, noted the consortium.
Ryan Sher of WIOCC Group, said: “This cable is fundamental to the core of the internet. There are cables like these all over the oceans all over the world, and these cables connect continents together. We are sitting in a cable ship now that is part of a massive project — one of the biggest, if not the biggest, cable projects in history. The cable itself is 45,000 km; it encircles the entire continent of Africa. This is a new generation of cables, bringing more capacity to the internet, and capabilities of internet to Africa.”
Elise Vandermeersch, chief officer of the ship, added: “We are laying optical cables around the world. It’s important because it’s connecting remote areas to increased internet speed to allow accessibility and allow people to be connected to the World Wide Web, [providing] access to new jobs and new possibilities.”
