Telecom Egypt Activates Mediterranean Link on 2Africa Cable

Telecom Egypt, the total telecom operator in Egypt and one of the largest subsea cable operators in the region, today announced the activation of a Mediterranean subsea link on the 2Africa subsea cable system. The project is in collaboration with Cisco, the worldwide leader in networking and security technologies. Using Cisco’s cutting-edge Network Convergence System (NCS), the link creates a high-capacity connection between Port Said, Egypt, and Marseille, France via Genoa, Italy.

The exponential growth of capacity-intensive applications such as cloud and AI services in the region is fueling the demand for expanded subsea network capacity, which requires advanced coherent transmission systems of high performance. This project enables Telecom Egypt to maximize the potential of its subsea assets on the 2Africa subsea cable, enhancing the efficiency of its the cable operations and boosting international traffic capacity.

Enabled by Cisco’s cutting-edge NCS, the system offers data transmission powered by Acacia’s multi-haul coherent module, delivering high performance with less power per bit. It allows network operators to enhance capacity across any cable, enabling precise adjustments to optical transmission signal bandwidth, modulation format, and spectral efficiency.

At 45,000 kilometers long, 2Africa is one of the world’s largest subsea cable systems, interconnecting Europe (eastward via Egypt), Asia, and Africa.

Collaboration is the cornerstone of innovation, and we are pleased to be supported by Cisco on this important project. By enhancing the capacity of our well-established subsea infrastructure, we are meeting the surging demand for bandwidth-intensive services such as cloud computing and AI across the Mediterranean and beyond. Today, we reiterate our unwavering commitment to investing in advanced network technologies and solutions to address growing demand while enabling international connectivity through strategic telecommunication highways. Looking ahead, we aim to unlock even more of our potential by developing new projects and launching innovative products and services.

– Mohamed Nasr, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Telecom Egypt

In the AI era, reliable and fast network connections are more critical than ever. Our collaboration with Telecom Egypt on the 2Africa cable exemplifies the potential for enhancing network capacity over very long distances. We’re proud to lead the way in supporting the growing demand for robust, high-capacity networks by providing cutting-edge technology that enables Telecom Egypt to optimize its capacity on the 2Africa cable.