Google Announces Umoja Subsea Cable Project to Connect Africa and Australia

Google has announced plans to build the first subsea fibre-optic cable directly connecting Africa and Australia, stating that the new investments in digital infrastructure and security initiatives are designed to increase digital connectivity, accelerate economic growth, and deepen resilience across Africa.

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Also Read: Google Announces Plans to Build Central Pacific Subsea Cables Bulikula and Halaihai

Google’s Umoja Cable

The new subsea cable, called Umoja, will be anchored in Kenya and pass through Uganda, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa before crossing the Indian Ocean to Australia.

Collaboration with Liquid Intelligent Technologies

Umoja’s terrestrial path was built in collaboration with Liquid Intelligent Technologies to form a highly scalable route through Africa, including access points that will allow other countries to take advantage of the network, Google said in a blog post on Thursday.

According to the company, Umoja, which is the Swahili word for unity, joins Equiano in an initiative called Africa Connect. Umoja will enable African countries to more reliably connect with each other and the rest of the world.

Redundancy and Resilience

This connectivity project will ensure redundancy and resilience in the region’s connectivity to the rest of the world, especially in light of recent disruptions caused by cuts to sub-sea cables, the blog post said.

Also Read: Google Announces USD 1 Billion Investment in Subsea Cables and Connectivity to Japan

Earlier in April 2024, Google announced a USD 1 billion investment in digital connectivity to Japan, which includes the expansion of the Pacific Connect initiative and delivers two new subsea cables, Proa and Taihei.