Red2Med

Overview

Red2Med is a domestic submarine cable system operated entirely within Egypt. Spanning approximately 420 kilometres, it connects four landing points along Egypt's Red Sea and Suez Canal coastline. The cable serves an intra-Egyptian corridor, linking coastal sites on the Red Sea with the northern terminus at Port Said on the Mediterranean approaches, effectively bridging the Red Sea and Mediterranean ends of the Suez corridor through a subsea route.

Route and Landings

All four landing points are located in Egypt. The cable reaches Port Said on the northern coast near the entrance to the Suez Canal, as well as Suez at the canal's southern end. Along the Egyptian Red Sea coast, the cable also lands at Ras Ghareb and Zafarana, two points situated between Suez and the broader Red Sea seaboard.

Ownership and Operators

Red2Med is wholly owned by Telecom Egypt, the country's national telecommunications operator and the sole provider of international and domestic wholesale connectivity over this system. As the exclusive owner, Telecom Egypt manages the cable's operations and capacity without a consortium structure.

Status and Timeline

Red2Med entered service in 2023, making it one of the more recently commissioned cable systems along Egypt's coastline.

Regional Context

Egypt occupies one of the most active submarine cable corridors in the world, serving as a transit country for intercontinental systems connecting Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. Several long-haul international cables land in Egypt, including Asia Africa Europe-1 (AAE-1), PEACE Cable, 2Africa, Europe India Gateway (EIG), IMEWE, and the forthcoming SeaMeWe-6. These systems span tens of thousands of kilometres and carry traffic across multiple continents.

Red2Med is distinctly different in character from these international peers. At 420 kilometres, it operates purely within Egyptian territory, connecting coastal nodes rather than bridging continents. It complements the international infrastructure by providing domestic connectivity between landing points on the Red Sea coast and the Mediterranean-facing port of Port Said, supporting the internal network fabric that underlies Egypt's broader role as a transit hub.

Strategic Role

By connecting Port Said, Suez, Ras Ghareb, and Zafarana through a single subsea system, Red2Med provides a dedicated underwater link between geographically dispersed points along Egypt's coastline. This domestic configuration allows Telecom Egypt to route traffic between the Red Sea and the northern Suez Canal zone without relying solely on terrestrial infrastructure, reinforcing connectivity within the country's coastal network.