Bayobab, MTN Group’s infrastructure company, has announced the landing of the 45,000 km 2Africa subsea cable in Accra, Ghana, and Lagos, Nigeria. The company states that this will provide equitable access to world-class capacity for service providers in Ghana and Nigeria in carrier-neutral data centres or open-access cable landing stations.
Rebranded from MTN GlobalConnect in May 2023, Bayobab Africa has shifted its focus to forming local and international partnerships to deliver digital services over five networks across Africa. The company boasts over 108,000 kilometres of fibre and aims to extend this to 135,000 kilometres by 2025.
As a member of the 2Africa consortium, alongside partners such as Center3, China Mobile International, Meta, Orange, Telecom Egypt, Vodafone Group, and WIOCC, Bayobab is part of an initiative working on the world’s largest subsea cable project.
Bayobab purports that “cables like 2Africa are fundamental to the global internet, connecting people and continents. Once operational, they will assist in delivering improved and much-needed capacity between Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.”
Bayobab’s Chief FibreCo Officer, Mohammed Aliyu, expressed that these cable landings signify the company’s dedication to its ‘East2West project.’ This project aims to bridge the digital divide between West Africa and the rest of the continent.
To accomplish this, Bayobab plans to offer dark fibre access and active fibre capacity in over ten African countries.
Bayobab, which operates a Global Customer Success Centre in Ghana, had previously announced the landing of the 2Africa cable in Ghana, stating its completion would be in 2023 and 2024. Furthermore, the company received a National Long-Distance Operator Licence in Nigeria in September 2023.
These are the third and fourth landings in a series of six in five countries by Bayobab, which includes Ghana, Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, and South Africa.
Back in 2022, when it was still known as MTN GlobalConnect, the company landed the 2Africa cable in Yzerfontein and Duynefontein, South Africa.
Given the rapid technological transformation of sectors in Africa, internet connectivity is crucial. Bayobab points out that the cable will support Internet ecosystem development by enhancing internet accessibility for businesses and their customers.
