2Africa is the world’s largest fibre-optic cable system and will connect Africa, Europe and large parts of the Middle East and South Asia once fully operational.
The cable clocks in at 45,000km in length and is owned by Vodafone alongside consortium partners Bayobab, China Mobile, Meta, Orange, Saudi Telecom, Telecom Egypt, and WIOCC. It will be supplied by Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN).
Vodafone said the latest landing in Cornwall will facilitate faster and more reliable connectivity for UK businesses wanting to deliver digital services to Africa. Total capacity on the cable is up to 180 terabits per second (Tbps).
As the lead partner for the UK landing, Vodafone will be responsible for managing the physical cable coming ashore, burial on the beach and installation into a new, purpose-built beach manhole.
From this new beach manhole 2Africa will connect to terrestrial cable that link back to Vodafone’s existing cable landing station.
Vodafone will also provide 2Africa with onward connectivity via two diverse terrestrial infrastructure and fibre routes linking to the London area.
Vodafone has already begun carrying customer traffic on its part of the cable, which consists of dual-fibre cables that the operator says have a lifespan of 25 years.
Vodafone has been the partner for 11 landings of the 2Africa cable to date, including the Canary Islands and South Africa.
