Business Post Contributor
By Sodeinde Temidayo David
Leading social networking service company, Facebook Incorporated, under the 2Africa project, has extended its 37,000km undersea Internet cable connectivity in South-East Nigeria, as well as other three branches.
The company noted that it would also be implementing the project in Seychelles, the Comoros Islands and Angola after recently announcing the extension to the Canary Islands.
This would be done in collaboration with seven other companies, China Mobile International, MTN GlobalConnect, Orange S.A, STC, Telecom Egypt, Vodafone, and WIOCC.
The company in a statement revealed that the plan is still to go live towards the end of 2023 or latest early 2024.
The group said the 2Africa project has made some progress, as a big part of the subsea route survey activity is complete.
It revealed that the Egypt and Mediterranean Seas connections are almost complete, as well, while the marine surveys for the new sections are scheduled to be completed by the end of this year.
It was also noted that the new branches will be deployed by Nokia’s Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN) and will increase the number of 2Africa landings to 35 in 26 countries.
The project is set to provide nearly three times the total network capacity of all the subsea cables serving Africa today, as Africa struggles with Internet connectivity.
Last year, Facebook announced the 2Africa project would lay 37,000 km (22,990 miles) of cables. These cables interconnect Europe, via Egypt, and the Middle East, via Saudi Arabia, and 21 landings in 16 African countries.
Facebook said that most of the subsea route survey activity is now complete as ASN has started manufacturing the cable to deploy the first segments in 2022.
Undersea cables are responsible for ferrying the majority of international internet traffic. Growing demand for 4G, 5G, and broadband access is resulting in demand for more high-capacity cables to keep the traffic moving.
