Extending 45,000 km across the seabed to link 33 countries, 2Africa is now the world's longest subsea cable project, designed to interconnect Europe, Asia and Africa. The start of 2026 marks a decisive milestone for the project. Following its launch in 2020, the core infrastructure was declared completed in late 2025 with the finalisation of crucial landings, including Egypt's Port Said and Ras Ghareb stations. This means the primary African "loop" is now fully operational, with the final "Pearls" extension - which extends the network into the Arabian Gulf and India - set to go live later this year to complete the system's global reach.
While subsea cables have long linked the globe by skimming past African coastlines, the 2Africa project represents a fundamental shift: for the first time, the continent itself is the main conduit rather than a peripheral stop. 2Africa is led by Meta and backed by a heavyweight consortium including Telecom Egypt, China Mobile International, MTN Global Connect Bayobab, Orange, center3 owned by STC Group, Vodafone and the West Indian Ocean Cable Company WIOCC.
At the heart of this project is Egypt. As a unique land bridge between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, Cairo has become a non-negotiable geopolitical pivot point. Today, over 90 of all data traffic between Europe and Asia transits through Egyptian territory, accounting for approximately 17 of total global internet traffic.
