According to a number of recent news reports, the government of Equatorial Guinea is considering joining the Medusa subsea cable to improve network stability.
Medusa is a submarine cable system linking the Mediterranean countries with the Atlantic and the Red Sea. While it was initially planned to connect Mediterranean countries, the project has been extended to Africa.
Medusa has been designed as an open access submarine cable system providing a full portfolio of services, including full fibre pairs and half fibre pairs. The system is designed to deliver a capacity of 480 terabits per second through a total of 24 fibre pairs.
The plan for Equatorial Guinea to join the cable, estimated to cost at €20–60 million (about US$23.1 million to US$69.3 million), with rollout targeted for 2029–2030, could cut outages, lower costs and expand digital access.
If it goes ahead, the city of Bata could be a logical landing point due to its population density and proximity to the capital, La Paz.
That said, this appears to be only a proposal at present; it is one of the priority measures outlined in a strategic study conducted by digital and technology consultancy Mason to modernise the country’s digital infrastructure.
The study highlights the need to strengthen the country’s links to high-capacity international networks to address current limitations.
The study was presented to government last week. Vice President Nguema Obiang Mangue has said it would be reviewed in detail by a technical committee in coordination with Medusa project officials.
The Ecofin news service says that in February the government of Equatorial Guinea signed a cooperation agreement with Nigeria to deploy a separate subsea fibre optic infrastructure. Nigeria is already connected to seven major international subsea cables.
Equatorial Guinea relies mainly on the ACE cable for its international connectivity, though it also operates several regional links.
