The 2Africa subsea cable system surpassed a significant milestone recently, after it extended its reach into the the Arabian Gulf, Pakistan and India.
This the extension now means the system measures more than 45 000 kilometres long, making it the longest subsea cable system in the world.
While the milestone is indeed impressive, for those wanting to make use of the cable system it carries even more significance as it means three continents (Africa, Europe and Asia) are connected terrestrially through Egypt.
“2Africa creates unique connectivity by adding vital landing locations in Oman (Barka), UAE (Abu Dhabi and Kalba), Qatar (Doha), Bahrain (Manamah), Kuwait (Kuwait), Iraq (Al-Faw), Pakistan (Karachi), India (Mumbai), and a fourth landing in Saudi Arabia (Al Khobar),” added a press release sent to Hypertext.
The new 2Africa branch joins recently announced extensions to the Canary Islands, the Seychelles, Comoros Islands, Angola and a new landing to South-East Nigeria.
“As with other 2Africa cable landings, capacity will be available in PEARLS landings at carrier-neutral facilities or open-access cable landing stations on a fair and equitable basis, encouraging and supporting the development of a healthy internet ecosystem,” the press release noted.
“To further support a burgeoning global digital economy, the expanded system will serve an even wider range of communities that rely on the internet for services from education to healthcare, and businesses, providing economic and social benefits that come from increased connectivity,” it concluded.
