A new cable system connecting South Africa, the Middle East, Pakistan and Europe is set come on line – and a number of regional telcos are helping to speed things along.
Telcos and other parties met on December 11 in Dubai to sign a Construction and Maintenance Agreement (C&MA) for the Africa-1 cable system. The cable is expected to be up and working by early 2021.
Connecting South Africa through the eastern coast of Africa and from Pakistan through the Middle East all the way to Europe, the Africa-1 submarine cable system – spanning more than 20,000 kilometres – will be one of the largest in the region. The cable system is expected to touch land in carrier-neutral points-of-presence (POPs) in Marseille (France), Mombasa (Kenya) and Durban (South Africa). There are also set to be submarine cable stations in Sidi-Krir and Zaafarana in Egypt, Port Sudan in Sudan, Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, Djibouti City in Djibouti, Mogadishu in Somalia, Mombasa in Kenya, Mayotte, Mahajanga in Madagascar, Fujairah in United Arab Emirates, and Karachi in Pakistan.
Telcos involved include Sudatel, Etisalat, STC and more.
Source: https://www.commsmea.com/services/18740-africa-1-subsea-cable-system-coming-closer-to-reality