Est-Tet

Overview

Est-Tet is a short submarine cable spanning 113 kilometres across the Strait of Gibraltar, connecting Morocco and Spain. The cable forms a direct link between the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa across one of the world's most heavily transited maritime passages.

Route and Landings

In Morocco, the cable lands at Tétouan, a city on the northern coast near the Strait of Gibraltar. In Spain, the cable lands at Estepona, located on the Costa del Sol in the Andalusia region. These two landing points sit at opposite ends of the short trans-strait crossing.

Ownership and Operators

Est-Tet is jointly owned by Maroc Telecom and Telxius. Maroc Telecom is Morocco's primary telecommunications operator, providing services across the country and across several sub-Saharan African markets. Telxius is the telecommunications infrastructure subsidiary of Telefónica, operating cable systems and tower assets across multiple continents.

Status and Timeline

Est-Tet entered service in 1994, making it one of the earliest submarine cable systems to land in Morocco. As of today, the cable has been operational for approximately 32 years, placing it among the longest-serving systems in its corridor.

Regional Context

The Morocco–Spain corridor has seen considerable cable activity over the decades. Est-Tet, at 113 kilometres, is a much shorter system than most others in this corridor; by length it exceeds only 11 percent of the 27 other cables touching the same two countries. More recent additions to the corridor include far longer systems such as 2Africa, which became ready for service in 2024 at 45,000 kilometres, Africa Coast to Europe (ACE) at 17,000 kilometres, and the forthcoming Medusa Submarine Cable System and Sol, both of which will land in both Morocco and Spain upon completion. Est-Tet predates all of these systems by many years, having been one of the earliest cables to establish a direct Morocco–Spain connection.

Strategic Role

By linking Tétouan directly to Estepona, Est-Tet provides a dedicated undersea pathway between northern Morocco and southern Spain across the Strait of Gibraltar. Its 113-kilometre route represents the narrowest part of the separation between Africa and Europe, and the cable serves as a point of direct connectivity between the telecommunications networks of its two landing countries. While the corridor has since attracted numerous larger and more recent cable systems, Est-Tet remains a long-standing element of the Morocco–Spain undersea connection.