The 2Africa consortium has announced that the 2Africa submarine cable has made its first landing, in Genoa, Italy. Upon completion in 2024, the 45,000-km submarine network is expected to be the longest in the world, connecting 46 locations in Africa, Europe, and Asia.
China Mobile International, Meta, MTN GlobalConnect, Orange, stc, Telecom Egypt, Vodafone and WIOCC announced plans for 2Africa in May 2020 (see “2Africa submarine cable to connect 23 countries in Europe, Africa, Middle East" and "Consortium announces four new branches for 2Africa submarine cable system"). Vodafone, as the 2Africa landing party in Genoa, arranged to land the cable directly into the Equinix Carrier Neutral Data Center (CNDC) in the city; Retelit provided the fronthaul. A local Italian operator the consortium didn’t identify has developed a new terrestrial fiber route to connect the Genoa cable landing station directly to major CNDCs in Milan.
Alcatel Submarine Networks, part of Nokia, is overseeing the submarine network deployment. Once completed, 2Africa is expected to deliver connectivity to approximately 3 billion people.
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