The marine survey for 2Africa Pearls in Bahrain has been successfully completed by the center3 and stc Bahrain, representing a significant achievement in the progress of the broader 2Africa subsea cable project. The 2Africa Pearls is a new submarine cable system part of the broader 2Africa subsea cable project. A consortium of global telecommunications companies, including Facebook, China Mobile International, MTN GlobalConnect, Orange, stc, Telecom Egypt, Vodafone and WIOCC, announced the project in 2020.
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2Africa Pearls
The 2Africa Pearls project is part of the larger 2Africa subsea cable initiative, which aims to connect Africa, the Middle East, and Europe through an extensive undersea fiber-optic network. center3 and stc Bahrain to land the 2Africa Pearls Submarine cable system in Bahrain, connecting Arabian Gulf with Europe, Africa and Asia.
The 2Africa Pearls subsea cable is a unique transcontinental communication network that connects 33 countries across 46 landing locations, spanning three continents and positioning the Middle East as the center of operations.
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Longest Subsea Cable Deployed
After completion, 2Africa Pearls will set a new record as the longest deployed subsea cable. With a length exceeding 45,000 km, the cable system will deliver reliable connectivity and internet services to a number of crucial landing locations in KSA, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, UAE, Qatar, Iraq, Pakistan, and India.
Last month, STC and Center3 successfully installed the 2Africa cable in Jeddah and Yanbu, Saudi Arabia. In addition, the 2Africa cable has reached Mahajanga, Madagascar, making it the fourth international cable to connect the island. It also recently landed in Maputo, Mozambique, where it will be located at icolo's newly constructed data center.
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Fahad A. Alhajeri, CEO of center3, said: "Connecting 2Africa Pearls with Bahrain marks another significant accomplishment for center3. The project progress is critical to center3 in linking Asia, Africa, and Europe. center3 is dedicated to investing in communication infrastructure with the aim of offering exceptional connectivity to its customers and contributing to the realization of the Kingdom's 2030 Vision. The 2Africa subsea cable is a vital step towards achieving this objective and solidifying center3's position as a leading player in the region's connectivity landscape."
Eng Nezar Banabeela, CEO of stc Bahrain, said: "This is a landmark achievement for us and affirms stc Bahrain's commitment to spearheading digital transformation and solidifies the region's position as a regional ICT hub. Investments in this advanced network infrastructure will drive economic growth for businesses, serve industries that rely on the internet and enhance the living standards in the region. 2Africa Pearls will vastly increase the data backbone of Bahrain by 100x, providing high-speed connectivity services that will accommodate the futuristic heavy data demand."
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In October 2022, Center3 was established to take ownership of the digital infrastructure assets belonging to Saudi Arabia's STC Group, encompassing data centers, subsea cables, international points of presence, and internet exchange points.
The unparalleled speed and reliability of the 2Africa Subsea cable will drive economic growth, encourage innovation, and enhance collaboration in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
