A gigantic submarine cable between Europe and Africa: Orange's "life insurance" to secure the internet

A new submarine cable project, named Via Africa, is set to significantly enhance digital connectivity between Europe and Africa. This initiative, spearheaded by Orange and a consortium of seven operators, aims to bolster the resilience and diversity of international internet traffic, a critical need given the increasing reliance on digital services across both continents. The project addresses the growing bandwidth demands in Africa and the vulnerability of existing, aging infrastructure. The Via Africa cable will be a fiber optic link connecting Southern Europe to South Africa, with planned landing points in the UK, France, Portugal, and the Canary Islands on the European side. African endpoints will include Mauritania, Senegal, Guinea, Ivory Coast, and Nigeria, with further South African connections yet to be finalized. This infrastructure development is crucial for supporting burgeoning cloud services, AI applications, and remote work, which are driving unprecedented internet traffic growth. This project directly confronts the issue of Africa's aging and often undersized network infrastructure. Recent events, such as the simultaneous failure of four subsea cables in March 2024 due to a rockslide, which left 13 West African countries with severely degraded connectivity for weeks, highlight the urgent need for alternatives. Via Africa offers a geographically distinct route, mitigating the risks associated with concentrated infrastructure points and reducing reliance on vulnerable existing links. This improved connectivity will benefit European operators and cloud services that depend on these vital transatlantic routes.