KAFOS

Overview

KAFOS is a regional submarine cable system spanning 538 km across the Black Sea, connecting Bulgaria, Romania, and Turkey. It serves the intra-Black Sea corridor, linking the western and southern shores of the sea and supporting telecommunications connectivity among these three countries.

Route and Landings

In Bulgaria, KAFOS lands at Varna, one of the country's principal coastal cities on the Black Sea.

In Romania, the cable reaches Mangalia, a port city situated on Romania's southern Black Sea coast.

In Turkey, KAFOS has two landing points: Igneada, located on the northwestern Black Sea coast, and Istanbul, the country's largest city and a significant hub for regional communications.

Ownership and Operators

KAFOS is owned by Turk Telekom International, the international arm of Turk Telekom, one of Turkey's primary telecommunications providers. As the sole owner, Turk Telekom International operates the system independently.

Status and Timeline

KAFOS entered service in 1997, making it one of the earlier submarine cable systems established in the Black Sea region. It continues to operate as an active cable connecting Bulgaria, Romania, and Turkey.

Regional Context

Within the Black Sea submarine cable corridor, KAFOS occupies a distinct position as a multi-country system entering service earlier than several of its regional peers. The Caucasus Cable System (RFS 2008) and Turcyos-2 (RFS 2011) followed later, while the shorter Turcyos-1 (RFS 1993) predates it. The forthcoming Kardesa system, planned for 2027, will connect Bulgaria and Turkey at a considerably greater length of 1,385 km. The MedNautilus Submarine System, while also touching Turkey, operates at a much larger scale at 7,000 km. KAFOS, at 538 km, remains a compact system tailored specifically to the intra-Black Sea corridor shared by Bulgaria, Romania, and Turkey.

Based on 88 ping tests conducted over the past 60 days, KAFOS records an average round-trip latency of 56.4 ms, with a best recorded measurement of 49.1 ms, reflecting the relatively short geographic distances involved across its 538 km route.

Strategic Role

KAFOS provides a direct submarine link among three Black Sea nations — Bulgaria, Romania, and Turkey — across a single continuous cable system. With two landing points in Turkey, including Istanbul, the cable concentrates connectivity at a geographically central node while also serving the coastlines of Bulgaria and Romania. This configuration supports direct bilateral and trilateral communications across the western and southern Black Sea without routing traffic through terrestrial alternatives.