Vodacom welcomes 2Africa cable to the Eastern Cape

The 2Africa subsea cable, described as the largest subsea cable system in the world, has landed at the South African operator Vodacom’s network facility in Gqeberha. This is the first submarine cable landing in the Eastern Cape region.

The 2Africa consortium is made up of eight international partners, including Vodafone/Vodacom. Launched in May 2022, the subsea cable project aims to significantly increase the capacity, quality, and availability of internet connectivity between Africa and the rest of the world.

The Gqeberha landing is the 2Africa project’s third on the coast of South Africa, following two recent landings in the Western Cape by MTN GlobalConnect. Vodacom is the designated landing partner, providing facilities for the cable’s installation at an existing site in the Summerstrand area.

Through the 2Africa landing at Gqeberha, service providers will be able to obtain capacity on a fair and equitable basis. Direct international connectivity can then be provided to data centres, enterprise, and wholesale customers.

Once the fibre cable system has been deployed, businesses and consumers will benefit from improved quality, reliability, and lower latency for internet services. The cable system’s landing in the Eastern Cape will also offer the potential for regional job creation in sectors that rely on direct international connectivity, such as data centres, call centres and software development.

The 2Africa project underpins further growth of 4G, 5G and fixed broadband access by providing improved connectivity to underserved and rural areas and network resilience from the Eastern Cape to the rest of South Africa. As a gateway to international connectivity, the cable’s landing at Gqeberha will help to develop telecommunications networks in the Eastern Cape and surrounding provinces.

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