It is one of the most ambitious project aimed at connecting the African continent to the internet, Facebook is laying cable under the sea to interconnect 23 countries in Africa, the Middle East and Europe.
The project, named 2Africa is one of the largest subsea cable projects in the world. At 37,000 kilometres long, 2Africa will be nearly equal to the circumference of the Earth.
“The project is impressive for more than length alone: It will provide nearly three times the total network capacity of all the subsea cables serving Africa today,” Facebook stated in a blog post.
Facebook, a social networking platform, said 2Africa was an effort to ensure an open and inclusive internet ecosystem and that the project would deliver broadband access to hundreds of millions of people.
“We have seen firsthand the positive impact that increased connectivity has on communities, from education to healthcare. We know that economies flourish when there is widely accessible internet for businesses.”
Many people now rely on the internet for work and school due to COVID-19 induced restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of the viral infection. Facebook said investment in 2Africa project was coming at a crucial time for economic recovery.
“Technological advancements have increased the efficiency of this project. This is the first system of its size to make use of an innovative aluminum conductor for submarine cable systems.
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