The cable is a project led by a consortium comprised of China Mobile International, Meta, MTN GlobalConnect, Orange, STC, Telecom Egypt, Vodafone and WIOCC.
It is the world’s largest subsea cable project to date and will connect 33 countries and the continents of Africa, Europe and Asia, once live in 2023.
The Ras Ghareb landing is one of several taking place in the coming months and will be extended to a total of 46 locations across Africa, Europe and Asia by the completion of the project in 2024.
Fares Akkad, regional director for the Middle East and North Africa at Meta said: “Connecting people is the very core of Meta’s priorities, and access to faster internet is no longer a luxury but an absolute necessity, as crystalised by the COVID-19 crisis.
“The internet was integral to keeping our daily lives running in some semblance of routine. In times of trouble, it is a tool for survival, while during better times, it is essential to help economies across the world thrive and raise the standards of living for large segments of society.
“Investing in submarine cables brings more people online to a faster internet, and 2Africa is a perfect example of our innovative partnership model where everyone benefits through the development of technology infrastructure to lead the industry in routes, capacity, and flexibility.”
At 45,000km, the project is also the longest subsea cable ever deployed, serving communities that rely on the internet throughout all three continents.
The cable successfully landed in Marseille, France earlier this month.
