Global telecommunications operator Orange is backing a new 20,000-kilometre subsea cable project that will link Nigeria and nearly 20 other countries in Africa and Europe.
Developed by a consortium led by Orange, Via Africa will span more than 20,000 kilometres across the Atlantic, positioning it among the longest subsea cable systems serving the continent. Meta’s 2Africa remains the world’s longest submarine cable at 45,000 kilometres.
Nigeria, one of Africa’s largest internet and data markets, hosts eight submarine cables, the highest in West Africa. However, the country continues to face persistent fibre cuts, vandalism, and network congestion as internet usage and data traffic surge nationwide.
“Every two days somewhere in the world you have a cable cut or failure,” Michaël Trabbia, CEO of Orange Wholesale, told TechCabal in an interview on Thursday. “You need different routes to make sure that when you have one or two cable cuts, you still have connectivity.”
The project is still open to additional partners, with final landing points and participating countries expected to evolve as more operators join the consortium, Trabbia said.
