WIOCC group chief executive officer, Chris Wood, commented:
We are pleased to be working with our partners in the 2Africa project, bringing faster, more reliable internet to local businesses and consumers, and making an enduring contribution to communications in Africa. The subsea cable system is enabling more communities to access transformative online resources, from education and healthcare to jobs and financial services, and experience the economic and social benefits of seamless connectivity.
The 2Africa cable project was launched in May 2020 to significantly increase the capacity, quality and availability of internet connectivity between Africa and the rest of the world, and a recent study by RTI International predicts that within two to three years of becoming operational, 2Africa will spur economic impact worth $26.2bn to $36.9bn, equivalent to 0.42-0.58% of Africa’s GDP.
The arrival of the 45,000km, 180 terabits per second (tbps) 2Africa cable system in Amanzimtoti, 25km south of Durban, will bring much-needed additional international capacity for internet and other services, support high-speed internet delivery and provide greater diversity, which will benefit businesses and individuals throughout South Africa.
The cable system’s landing in Amanzimtoti also offers the potential for increased regional job creation in sectors that rely on direct international connectivity, such as data centres, call centres and software development, which can help contribute to both local and national socio-economic development.
The 2Africa cable consortium partners are China Mobile International, Meta (formerly Facebook), MTN GlobalConnect, Orange, Center3 (Saudi telecom company), Telecom Egypt, Vodafone/Vodacom and Wiocc.
Manufactured and being deployed by Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN), the 45,000km 2Africa cable system has a design capacity of up to 180Tbps and will interconnect 33 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East when it is completed in 2024.