The 2Africa submarine cable has landed in Maputo, to provide a direct international gateway for faster and more reliable Internet services in the country.

The world's largest submarine cable system has landed in Maputo. This is the 2Africa submarine cable, and it is the first submarine cable to land in the country, which promises greater Internet capacity and accelerated connectivity, supporting Mozambique's growing digital economy.

The Maputo landing is the fourth for the 2Africa project, following two recent landings in the Western Cape by MTN GlobalConnect. Vodacom is the designated partner for the landing, providing infrastructure for the installation of the cable at an existing site in the Port of Maputo area.

The 2Africa Consortium includes eight international partners, namely China Mobile International, Meta (Facebook), MTN GlobalConnect, Orange, center3 (stc), Telecom Egypt, Vodafone/Vodacom and WIOCC, who have joined forces to build 2Africa.

Launched in May 2022, the submarine cable project aims to significantly increase the capacity, quality and availability of internet connectivity between Africa and the rest of the world.

"The landing of the 2Africa submarine cable reaffirms Vodacom's commitment to boosting digital inclusion in Mozambique and on the African continent, increasing access to quality Internet services and investing in network infrastructure," said the chairman of Vodacom's board of directors, Nuno Quelhas, this morning during the launch of the 2Africa project's submarine cable near Costa do Sol beach, Maputo city.

Quelhas also says that the landing of the 2Africa submarine cable reaffirms Vodacom's commitment to boosting digital inclusion in Mozambique and on the African continent, increasing access to quality Internet services and investing in network infrastructure.

For his part, Vodacom CEO Simon Karikari said that the 2Africa cable confirms Vodacom's commitment to driving digital inclusion in Africa by increasing access to quality Internet services and investing in network infrastructure to support this goal.

By landing the 2Africa cable in Maputo, service providers will be able to obtain capacity on a fair and equitable basis, encouraging and supporting the development of a healthy Internet services ecosystem.

Direct international connectivity can then be provided to data centers, companies and wholesale customers. Once the fiber optic cable system is deployed, companies and consumers will benefit from better quality, reliability and lower latency for Internet services, including teleworking, high-definition video streaming, as well as advanced multimedia and mobile video applications.

According to Simon Karikari, the landing of the fiber optic cable system will also offer the potential for much-needed regional job creation in sectors that depend on direct international connectivity, such as data centers, call centers and the development of software. This job opportunity can help contribute to local and national socio-economic development.

The 2Africa project supports further growth in 4G, 5G and fixed broadband access, providing better connectivity to underserved and rural areas, as well as network resilience. As a gateway to international connectivity, the landing of the fiber optic cable will help develop telecommunications networks in all provinces.

The submarine cable systems that provide the international networks between continents and countries are an integral part of the connectivity value chain and increase the Internet's capacity to meet the current and future demands of Africa's growing digitalization, while catalyzing economic growth.

On study of RTIThe 2Africa cable is expected to stimulate an economic impact of between 26.2 and 36.9 billion dollars, equivalent to 0.42-0.58% of Africa's GDP, within two to three years of becoming operational.

The Vodacom CEO also said that this submarine fiber optic cable system allows more communities to access transformative online resources, from education and healthcare to jobs and financial services, as well as to experience the economic and social benefits of seamless connectivity.