06 October 2021

The Seychelles is one of three countries added to the project

A consortium made up of US social networking giant Facebook and its telecommunications partners has added the Seychelles, the Comoros, and Angola as branches to the cable project, named 2Africa.

It brings to 26 the number of countries on or near Africa’s coastline which will be touchpoints for the high-speed internet project.

The consortium also announced a new cable landing point—where an underwater cable makes landfall—in Nigeria, bringing the total number of such connections to 35.

Launched in 2020, the 2Africa project aims to enhance internet capacity and connectivity in the region. When it goes live in late 2023, the 22,000-mile cable will connect Africa, Europe, and the Middle East by allowing their internet service providers to join 2Africa at data centres or cable landing stations. With a capacity of up to 180 terabytes per second in some parts, the 2Africa project promises to deliver more than the total combined capacity of all subsea cables serving Africa at the moment.

“Communities that rely on the internet for services from education to healthcare, and business, will experience the economic and social benefits that come from this increased connectivity,” the group said.

The consortium is also made up of China Mobile International, MTN GlobalConnect, Orange, stc, Telecom Egypt, the UK’s Vodafone, and Mauritius’ West Indian Ocean Cable Company. Alcatel Submarine Networks, part of the Finnish telecommunications company Nokia, is deploying the cable.