Gqeberha is new gateway to the world
The world longest subsea cable system has landed at Vodacom’s network facility in Gqeberha, South Africa. This is the first connection of the 2Africa subsea cable on the Eastern Cape and it promises copious capacity and connectivity across the province, which could energise South Africa’s digital economy. The 2Africa Consortium’s eight partners, China Mobile International, Meta (Facebook), MTN GlobalConnect, Orange, center3 (stc), Telecom Egypt, Vodafone/Vodacom and WIOCC, have jointly the subsea cable which was launched in May 2022 to connect Africa to the rest of the world.
The Gqeberha landing is the 2Africa project’s third on the coast of South Africa, following two recent landings in the Western Cape by MTN GlobalConnect, Vodacom is the designated landing partner, providing facilities for the cable’s installation at an existing site in the Summerstrand area.
Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN) is responsible for making and deploying the 2Africa cable, which is due to complete in 2024. The 45,000 kilometre system has a throughput of 180 Tbps, will interconnect Europe (eastward via Egypt), the Middle East (via Saudi Arabia) and Africa. The 2Africa cable will connect 19 countries in Africa and 33 countries in total. The system has four landings in South Africa and two each in Mozambique, Kenya, Nigeria, Somalia and Egypt, making a total of 27 landings in Africa and 46 landings overall. By delivering more than the total combined capacity of all subsea cables serving Africa today, 2Africa will provide much-needed internet capacity and reliability across much of the Middle East, India, Pakistan and Africa, supporting the growth of 4G, 5G, and fixed broadband access for hundreds of millions of people. The 2Africa East cable system, of which the Gqeberha branch is a part, will go live by and be ready for service by the fourth quarter of 2023.
Submarine cable systems, which provide the international networks between continents and countries, form an integral part of the connectivity value chain and increase internet capacity to meet the current and future demands of growing digitalisation in Africa, while catalysing economic growth. In an RTI study, 2Africa is predicted to spur economic impact worth $26.2 billion to $36.9 billion, equivalent to 0.42-0.58% of Africa’s GDP, within two to three years of becoming operational.
Service providers can obtain capacity on a fair and equitable basis, encouraging and supporting the development of a healthy internet ecosystem, said a Vodacom statement. Direct international connectivity can then be provided to data centres, enterprise, and wholesale customers.
The 2Africa project underpins further growth of 4G, 5G and fixed broadband access by providing improved connectivity to underserved and rural areas and network resilience from the Eastern Cape to the rest of South Africa. As a gateway to international connectivity, the cable’s landing at Gqeberha will help to develop telecommunications networks in the Eastern Cape and surrounding provinces, according to Diego Gutierrez, Vodacom Group Chief Officer: International Markets.
“This latest 2Africa cable landing affirms Vodacom’s commitment to driving digital inclusion in Africa by increasing access to quality internet services and investing in the network infrastructure to support this goal. We cannot achieve this alone, and collaboration between other industry stakeholders and the public sector is critical in enabling more citizens across the continent to be connected,” said Gutierrez.
“The subsea cable system enables more communities to access transformative online resources, from education and healthcare to jobs and financial services, and experience seamless connectivity’s economic and social benefits,” said Gutierrez.