The US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) has committed to funding a feasibility study for a potential extension of AFR-IX Telecom’s Medusa subsea cable system along Africa’s western shoreline.
The 8,760km Medusa cable, scheduled to be operational by the fourth quarter of this year, currently spans the northern and southern Mediterranean coasts, connecting countries such as Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal, and Spain on the north, with Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia on the south, offering a design capacity of 480 terabits per second across 24 fibre pairs.
In its recent statement, the USTDA indicated that the study will evaluate both the technical feasibility and commercial viability of extending the Medusa cable from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic coast of Africa, although specific details about the planned route or target countries were not disclosed. The move aims to bolster digital connectivity across the continent, with the extension potentially reaching up to 22 African nations.
Norman Albi, CEO of AFR-IX and Medusa Africa Submarine Cable System, expressed optimism about the project’s transformative potential. He highlighted that extending Medusa could significantly improve internet access for millions of people across Africa’s Atlantic coastline, enabling vital services such as cloud computing, government communications, and financial transactions.
“The Medusa Africa Submarine Cable System will be a game-changer for digital connectivity along Africa’s Atlantic corridor, fostering innovation, commerce, and social inclusion,” said Albi. He also emphasized that USTDA’s support is instrumental in transforming an ambitious vision into a financially viable project while catalyzing important regional partnerships.
The USTDA’s involvement underscores the strategic importance of the extension in enhancing cybersecurity and strengthening long-term digital partnerships between Africa and the United States. Thomas R. Hardy, acting director of USTDA, noted that the project would help counter efforts by malicious actors seeking to compromise critical infrastructure, manipulate markets, or conduct surveillance.
“Our support ensures that the project remains secure against untrusted infrastructure providers, protecting the integrity of data and markets for both the US and African nations,” said Hardy.
The extension is also seen as a crucial step towards increasing redundancy along the western coast route, especially after last year’s widespread disruptions caused by a rock fall near Côte d’Ivoire that damaged multiple subsea systems, including WACS, ACE, Main One, and SAT3, disrupting internet services across several West African countries.
The Medusa cable system, first announced in 2022 and funded by AFR-IX, Orange, and EU Connecting Europe Facilities (CEF) grants, is being constructed by Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN). The proposed extension could help address vulnerabilities highlighted by recent cable damages, providing more resilient and reliable connectivity for the region’s growing digital needs.
