A consortium of telecom operators and investors, including Orange Group, Sonatel, and Canalink, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop the Via Africa submarine cable system, a $500 million project aimed at creating a new high-capacity fiber-optic route linking Europe to West and Southern Africa.
The initiative, announced this week, will connect landing points in the United Kingdom, France, and Portugal with Atlantic coastal hubs in Africa, including Mauritania, Senegal, Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, and the Canary Islands. According to Orange Group, the project’s design phase will begin immediately, with a route study funded jointly by consortium members to determine the most efficient and resilient path for the cable system.
Why is Via Africa needed?
Current subsea cable infrastructure between Europe and Africa is dominated by a handful of routes, creating bottlenecks as data traffic surges. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) reported in 2023 that Africa’s internet traffic grew by 35% annually, outpacing global growth rates. Via Africa’s developers say the project will address this by introducing redundancy and diversifying connectivity options.
“The existing cables are often overloaded, leading to latency and reliability issues,” said a Sonatel spokesperson. “This system will provide an alternative route, reducing dependency on single paths and improving service quality for businesses and governments.”
How will the consortium model work?
The Via Africa project will operate under a shared-investment framework, with each partner contributing to design, deployment, and governance decisions. Orange Group confirmed that the consortium is open to additional investors, including other telecom operators, internet service providers, and digital infrastructure firms, in future phases.
Unlike traditional cable projects where a single entity holds control, this model allows participating companies to influence technical specifications, such as cable capacity, redundancy measures, and landing point locations. “This ensures the system aligns with regional needs rather than being driven by a single operator’s priorities,” said a Canalink representative.
What are the next steps?
Consortium members will first conduct a feasibility study to finalize the cable’s route, expected to take six to nine months. Following this, a procurement process will be launched to select a cable supplier, with construction anticipated to begin in late 2025, according to project timelines shared with partners.
While the initial focus is on West and Southern Africa, the consortium has indicated plans to extend the cable further south in later phases, potentially reaching Angola and South Africa. This aligns with broader regional efforts, such as the AfricaConnect2 project, which aims to double Africa’s international bandwidth by 2025.
How does this compare to existing projects?
Via Africa is one of several new subsea cable initiatives announced in recent years to address Africa’s connectivity gaps. The 2Africa project, launched in 2020 by a consortium led by Facebook and MTN, is currently the continent’s largest subsea cable system, with a capacity of 180 terabits per second. However, analysts note that Via Africa’s focus on redundancy and regional collaboration sets it apart.
“While 2Africa provides massive capacity, Via Africa’s design emphasizes resilience and local governance,” said a report from the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development. “This could be particularly critical for countries where political instability or natural disasters have disrupted existing infrastructure.”
The project’s developers emphasize that Via Africa will complement rather than compete with existing cables, offering an additional layer of redundancy for critical digital corridors.
