Vodafone lands 2Africa subsea cable in the Canary Islands

2Africa, the largest subsea cable system in the world, has reached the Canary Islands.

Providing valuable additional capacity to meet the demand for global telecommunications services over the coming decades, the cable will improve connectivity for people living and working in Gran Canaria and will connect with the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe.

Improving connectivity on the island

Vodafone and the Council of Tenerife, through Canalink, worked together on the new branch which landed earlier this week at Salinetas beach in Telde, on the east coast of Gran Canaria.

Home to roughly 864,500 people¹, institutes, companies and individuals on the island will now benefit from the advantages of having their own state-of-the-art fibre optic cable infrastructure, which enables the evolution of our networks towards 5G and ultrafast broadband.

As an open access cable to the islands, it is not just our customers that will see a benefit. This subsea system, designed by the 2Africa consortium to maximise performance and reduce latency, aims to improve the quality, capacity and availability of internet infrastructure across the Canary Islands.

“The world's largest submarine cable, with a capacity of up to 180 terabits per second, arrives today in Telde to continue boosting internet connectivity and digital inclusion for all citizens and businesses in the Canary Islands,” said Javier Álvarez, Regional Director of Vodafone Spain.

Millions to benefit

Launched in May 2020, the 2Africa project aims to significantly increase the capacity, quality, and availability of internet connectivity between Africa and the rest of the world.

Since work began, there have been 32 landings completed in 20 countries giving over 700 million more people access to a quality connection.

The branch reaching the Canary Islands is part of the 2Africa West System and provides a seamless fibre optic route between Gran Canaria and Continental Europe.

Linking from the main line that connects Africa to Europe, the new cable brings faster data flow both ways, benefitting businesses sending services to the island but also those organisations sending services from the island looking to expand globally.

Once complete, the cable will be 45,000 kilometres long and connect 33 countries on three continents (Europe, Africa and Asia).

Alcatel Submarine Networks is responsible for the manufacture and installation of the 2Africa cable, with the help of the 2Africa consortium made up of eight international partners: Bayobab, Center3, China Mobile International, Meta, Orange, Telecom Egypt; Vodafone Group and WIOCC.

More information can be found on the 2Africa website at https://www.2africacable.net/about.

¹ Spain: population of the Canary Islands by island 2023 | Statista