Johannesburg, 03 Feb 2022
AFR-IX telecom has confirmed plans to build a new subsea cable system called Medusa, a new generation submarine cable system.
The 8 700km, 24-fibre pair and 20Tbs per fibre pair system will connect nine Mediterranean countries: Portugal, Morocco, Spain, France, Italy, Algeria, Tunisia, Greece and Egypt.
Medusa system can be checked on Submarine Network Map by Telegeography: https://www.submarinecablemap.com/submarine-cable/medusa-submarine-cable-system
The deal is currently under review to be partially financed by the European Investment Bank for a contribution of €163 million.
Norman Albi, CEO of AFR-IX, announced the project speaking to Portuguese newspaper Expresso: "There is a combination of factors that lead us to invest in this cable: in addition to the fact that there are some submarine cables in the Mediterranean that are reaching the end of their life cycle (and that need alternatives), it is known that the telecommunications traffic generated in Africa has grown at an average of 55% per year."
Albi adds that the system will feature "state-of-the-art fibre-optic technologies” as well as an ‘open’ cable configuration "which can be connected to any type of technology or brand” and will offer a suite of services including full and half fibre pairs.
The news follows 2020 announcement that AFR-IX was to build the Barcelona Cable Landing Station, an open digital port that will allow unrestricted cable entry to up to eight submarine cables. The CLS is ready for service in April 2022.
“We are neutral and provide services to anyone who asks us," added Albi. "And we can also present alternative services with routes that may not be very interesting for cables managed by content producers or consortia of telecommunications operators.”
The Medusa submarine cable system will also connect the metro ring fibre backhaul to data centres, and is due to go live in segments. The West Med branch (Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Algeria, France and Italy) is expected to become ready for service by Q3 2024, while the East Med branch (Tunisia, Greece and Egypt) will be ready for service by Q1 of 2025.
Contact for further information: Andrea Guinó, aguino@afr-ix.com
More information about Medusa Submarine Cable System: www.medusascs.com
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