- Orange and its partners are developing a 20,000km subsea cable linking Nigeria and other African countries directly to Europe through the Atlantic corridor.
- The Via Africa project comes as Africa faces rising internet outages, exploding data demand, and growing AI and cloud investments.
- Nigeria, already West Africa’s biggest internet hub, is expected to become one of the project’s most strategic landing points.
- The cable could attract hyperscalers, cloud firms, and data centre investments while reducing Africa’s dependence on vulnerable internet routes.
French telecom giant Orange and its partners are planning a massive 20,000-kilometre subsea cable that could reshape internet connectivity between Africa and Europe at a time when artificial intelligence, cloud computing, fintech, and digital services are driving record data demand across the continent
The project, known aseral African countries directly to Europe through a new route designed to reduce the risk of widespread internet outages
For Nigeria, Africa’s largest internet and data market, the project could strengthen the country’s growing position as one of the continent’s most important digital gateways
The country already hosts eight submarine cables, more than any other West African nation, including systems such as Google’s Equiano cable and the Meta-backed 2Africa network
Yet despite those investments, internet disruptions remain a recurring problem across West Africa
In recent years, cable faults along the region’s coastline have disrupted banking systems, fintech platforms, enterprise operations, telecom networks, and international communications across multiple African countries
The incidents exposed how heavily Africa still depends on a limited number of connectivity routes
“Every two days somewhere in the world you have a cable cut or failure,” Michaël Trabbia, CEO of Orange Wholesale, said in an interview with TechCabal
That vulnerability is becoming increasingly expensive
African economies are rapidly digitising as governments, banks, fintech firms, streaming services, AI companies, and cloud providers expand operations across the continent
Demand for high-capacity internet infrastructure has surged alongside rising smartphone penetration and online commerce
The Via Africa project is designed to respond to that shift.
According to Orange, the cable will create a new Atlantic route connecting Europe to Africa through landing points expected to include Nigeria, Senegal, Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire, and Mauritania, with possible extensions further south toward South Africa
Unlike several existing systems that rely heavily on Mediterranean pathways, the consortium says the new route is intended to improve resilience and reduce “single points of failure” in Africa’s international connectivity infrastructure
“The more the routes are different, the more you avoid single points of failure,” Trabbia said
The project also reflects intensifying competition over Africa’s digital infrastructure
Global technology companies and telecom operators are investing billions of dollars into subsea cables, data centres, fibre networks, and cloud infrastructure as Africa emerges as one of the world’s fastest-growing internet markets
Meta’s 45,000km 2Africa cable, currently the world’s largest submarine cable system, recently expanded connectivity across Africa, Europe, and Asia
Meanwhile, Google’s Equiano cable significantly boosted internet capacity between Europe and West Africa after landing in Nigeria
Industry analysts say the next phase of Africa’s digital growth will depend less on smartphone adoption and more on whether the continent can build enough infrastructure to support AI workloads, cloud services, streaming platforms, digital payments, and data-intensive applications
That is one reason hyperscalers are paying close attention
“We see hyperscalers investing more and more in Africa,” Trabbia said. “This cable may attract hyperscalers because it is one of the very big and important infrastructure projects to connect Africa.”
The system is expected to terminate in major data centres, potentially encouraging further investments from cloud providers and digital infrastructure firms seeking to expand their African footprint
According to telecom research firm TeleGeography, Africa currently has 77 active or planned subsea cable systems
However, most of the continent’s international bandwidth remains concentrated in just a handful of countries, including Nigeria, South Africa, Egypt, Algeria, and Kenya
That imbalance has raised concerns about digital inequality and infrastructure concentration across Africa
Orange and its partners sayticipating operators to co-invest in the infrastructure and participate in governance decisions
Current partners include Canalink, GUILAB, International Mauritania Telecom, Orange Côte d’Ivoire, Sonatel, and Silverlinks, while more partners are expected to join later
The cable was officially unveiled during the Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi earlier this month, attended by African leaders, French President Emmanuel Macron, and top business executives
At the summit, Orange also announced plans to train more than three million young Africans in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, cloud computing, and digital entrepreneurship by 2030 as part of its broader digital expansion strategy on the continent
Construction timelines fore project could take between three and four years to complete after consortium arrangements and route studies are concluded
The company also said the cable will include additional physical protection technologies aimed at reducing damage caused by ship anchors and marine activity, one of the leading causes of subsea cable failures globally
For Africa, the stakes go far beyond faster internet speeds
Subsea cables have increasingly become critical economic infrastructure powering digital banking, AI systems, cloud computing, e-commerce, government services, and cross-border business operations
As Africa’s digital economy expands, countries with stronger connectivity infrastructure are likely to attract more investment, more tech companies, and more influence in the global digital economy
“We need this cable to achieve the digital ambition of the continent,” Trabbia said