Telecom Egypt, as part of the 2Africa consortium along with Bayobab, centre3, China Mobile International, Meta, Orange, Vodafone Group, and WIOCC, announced the completion of the core 2Africa infrastructure, a landmark subsea cable system that sets a new standard for global connectivity.
The 2Africa project is the product of years of close collaboration, technical innovation, and a shared vision among the consortium partners to connect communities, drive economic growth, and enable transformative digital experiences across Africa and beyond.
2Africa is the first cable to directly connect East and West Africa in a continuous system. The cable system also links the continent to the Middle East, South Asia, and Europe. With landings in more than 33 countries and counting, 2Africa will help enable connectivity for 3 billion people—representing more than 30 percent of the world’s population. This scale is unprecedented and was only possible through the collective effort of stakeholders across the ecosystem.
The cable system delivers a step change in international bandwidth for Africa. On the West segment, from England to South Africa, 2Africa supports 21 Tbps per fiber pair with 8 fiber pairs on the trunk, totaling 168 Tbps. In the Mediterranean, shorter distances allow for more than 30 Tbps per fiber pair, and with 16 fiber pairs, the system can deliver over 180 Tbps in these segments.
2Africa lands in Egypt, on the Red Sea, at Ras Ghareb, and on the Mediterranean, at Port Said. Both landing points are connected terrestrially via two trans-Egypt routes adjacent to the Suez Canal. The crossing solution, deployed with next-generation fiber technology, offers seamless optical paths between Africa, Asia, and Europe. It is complemented with the Red Sea subsea festoon, which connects the Ras Ghareb, Zafarana, and Suez adding an extra layer of diversity to the crossing.
This leap in capacity is expected to contribute up to USD 36.9 billion to Africa’s GDP within the first two to three years of operation, boosting job creation, entrepreneurship, and innovation hubs across the continent. 2Africa’s success is rooted in strong partnership, with the consortium sharing a unified goal: to build an open, inclusive network that fosters competition and supports innovation. With the Pearls extension, 2Africa will span 45,000 kilometres—more than the circumference of the earth.
Taking nearly six years to complete across 50 jurisdictions and requiring constant adaptation to dynamic regulatory landscapes, the cable’s success depended on strong partnerships and close collaboration with regulators and policymakers worldwide.
2Africa delivers double the capacity of older systems. It deploys advanced SDM (Spatial Division Multiplexing) technology and undersea optical wavelength switching for flexible bandwidth management to meet the growing demands for AI, cloud, and high bandwidth applications. The system also features a 50 percent increase in cable burial depth, carefully routed to avoid seabed hazards. Over 35 offshore vessels and extensive local operations were mobilised, with specialist equipment to ensure safe and resilient installation across the different jurisdictions.
The completion of 2Africa demonstrates the consortium’s shared commitment to advancing connectivity and driving sustainable digital and economic growth. This investment in open, scalable infrastructure will continue to strengthen global network resilience and extend the benefits of digital transformation to billions of people worldwide.
For Telecom Egypt, the project further strengthens its position as the region’s central connectivity hub and reinforces its strategic role as the primary gateway linking Africa to the rest of the world. The company’s participation in the consortium aligns with its long-term strategy to expand international infrastructure capacity, monetize its assets and enhance Egypt’s leadership in global data transit.
Tamer El Mahdi, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Telecom Egypt, commented:
“The completion of the core infrastructure of 2Africa cable project marks another milestone in Telecom Egypt’s ongoing journey to extend its international infrastructure and solidify our role as a central hub for global data traffic. Driven by our commitment to delivering unmatched, state-of-the-art solutions to all our partners and customers, we are thrilled to be part of such transformative project, unlocking a new era of digital connectivity in Africa and beyond.”
