Gulf2Africa (G2A)

Overview

Gulf2Africa (G2A) is a regional submarine cable system spanning approximately 1,500 km across the Arabian Sea, connecting Oman and Somalia. As a relatively short intra-corridor cable, it provides direct submarine connectivity between the Gulf of Oman and the Horn of Africa, linking two countries that are separated by open ocean but closely tied by geography and commerce.

Route and Landings

In Oman, the cable lands at Salalah, a coastal city in the south of the country that serves as a key convergence point for submarine infrastructure in the region.

In Somalia, the cable has two landing points: Berbera, situated on the Gulf of Aden in the north of the country, and Bosaso, located on the northeastern Puntland coast. Together, these two Somali landings extend connectivity across distinct coastal communities in the north and northeast of the country.

Ownership and Operators

Gulf2Africa is owned by a consortium of three telecommunications companies: Golis Telecommunications, Telesom, and Zain Omantel International. Golis Telecommunications and Telesom are Somali mobile network operators, while Zain Omantel International represents the Omani side of the partnership. The ownership structure reflects the bilateral nature of the cable, with operators from both countries holding stakes in the system.

Status and Timeline

Gulf2Africa entered service in 2017, making it one of the earlier dedicated submarine links to provide direct connectivity between Oman and Somalia.

Regional Context

The corridor between Oman and Somalia is served by several much longer international cable systems that pass through the region as part of broader intercontinental routes. Systems such as the Eastern Africa Submarine System (EASSy), PEACE Cable, and 2Africa touch Somalia as part of far wider African or global routes, while cables including Asia Africa Europe-1 (AAE-1), Europe India Gateway (EIG), and SeaMeWe-6 land in Oman as trunk routes between Europe and Asia. Gulf2Africa differs from these peers in scale and focus: at 1,500 km it is substantially shorter than any of its regional counterparts, and it was designed specifically to address connectivity between the two countries rather than to serve as a transit corridor for international traffic.

Strategic Role

By establishing a dedicated submarine link between Salalah and the two Somali landing points at Berbera and Bosaso, Gulf2Africa provides a direct path for telecommunications traffic between Oman and Somalia without relying on longer intercontinental systems. The presence of two distinct Somali landings extends the cable's reach to separate coastal populations in the country's north and northeast, distributing connectivity across a coastline that had historically depended on indirect international routing.