2Africa: The World's Longest Submarine Cable at 45,000km

<a href="/cable/2africa">2Africa</a>: The World's Longest Submarine Cable at 45,000km

Cable profile based on GeoCables monitoring data and TeleGeography submarine cable database

At 45,000 kilometers, 2Africa is the longest submarine cable system ever built — surpassing the Earth's circumference of 40,075 km. This groundbreaking system encircles the African continent, connecting 33 countries across Africa, Europe, and Asia in a single continuous loop. Once fully operational, it will handle more internet traffic to and from Africa than all existing cables combined.

The Route

2Africa forms a vast loop around Africa with three primary branches:

Western Branch — UK → Portugal → Spain → Canary Islands → Senegal → Côte d'Ivoire → Ghana → Nigeria → Gabon → Angola → South Africa
Eastern Branch — South Africa → Mozambique → Tanzania → Kenya → Somalia → Djibouti → Somalia → Yemen → Saudi Arabia → UAE → Qatar → Kuwait → Iraq → Egypt
Northern Branch — Egypt → Greece → Italy → France, with extensions into the Indian Ocean to Seychelles, Comoros, and Madagascar

Additionally, the cable includes a branch extending eastward to India, Pakistan, and Oman, making it a truly intercontinental system that connects Africa, Europe, and Asia in a unified ring.

Who Owns It

2Africa is backed by a unique consortium of global technology and telecommunications leaders:

• Meta (Facebook) — the primary funder and driving force behind the project

• Vodafone — a major telecom operator in Europe and Africa

• Orange — a key player in francophone Africa

• China Mobile International — a Chinese state-owned carrier

• MTN GlobalConnect — a pan-African telecommunications operator

• stc (Saudi Telecom Company)

• Telecom Egypt

• WIOCC (West Indian Ocean Cable Company)

The collaboration between Meta and China Mobile International is particularly noteworthy, representing a rare partnership between US Big Tech and a Chinese state-owned entity in the development of a critical communications asset.

Why 2Africa Matters for the Continent

Africa has historically faced significant challenges in submarine cable infrastructure. Prior to 2Africa:

• West Africa's international bandwidth was heavily reliant on <a href="/cable/sat-3wasc">SAT-3/WASC</a> (2002, aging) and ACE (2012).

• East Africa primarily depended on EASSy, SEACOM, and TEAMS.

• Many landlocked African nations were constrained by single-path routing through coastal neighbors.

2Africa addresses these challenges by providing:

• Redundancy: The ring topology ensures that a cut in one segment still leaves the other path operational.

• Capacity: Designed for 180 Tbps total capacity, a transformational leap for a continent where existing cables collectively provide ~40 Tbps.

• Coverage: 33 landing countries, including several gaining their first high-capacity international cable.

GeoCables Monitoring: 450 Health Checks

GeoCables has conducted 450 health checks on 2Africa segments, the highest monitoring count for any cable in our database. The system's 50 landing points across 34 countries enable extensive coverage for round-trip time (RTT) measurements across the African continent.

Key monitored segments include:

• UK → Portugal → Senegal: Atlantic approaches to West Africa

• Djibouti → Oman → UAE: Red Sea and Gulf branches

• South Africa → Mozambique → Tanzania: East African coastal segments

The Optical Wavelength Innovation

2Africa introduced undersea optical wavelength switching, a pioneering advancement for submarine cables. Unlike traditional systems that require traffic to surface at landing stations for switching, 2Africa can switch wavelengths underwater. This innovation enhances system flexibility and reduces the need for additional landing stations to manage transit traffic.

Current Status

2Africa has been deployed in segments since 2023, with full system completion anticipated between 2024 and 2025. Several segments are already carrying live traffic, while others are in the final stages of shore-end construction. Once fully operational, the complete ring will revolutionize internet economics across Africa, significantly lowering bandwidth costs and improving connectivity for hundreds of millions of people.

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GeoCables monitors 2Africa landing segments across 34 countries. View cable health status →