Djibouti Telecom is set to expand the Djibouti Africa Regional Express 1 (DARE1) subsea cable, extending its reach from East Africa all the way down to South Africa. This project represents a strategic move for Djibouti to evolve from a regional Red Sea gateway into a central, pan-African telecommunications hub. The extension promises to deliver additional capacity, lower latency, and more resilient data paths for carriers, hyperscalers, and businesses operating between East and Southern Africa.
The new segment will span approximately 3,200 to 3,500 kilometers, running from Mombasa, Kenya, to Mtunzini, South Africa. The cable will include new landing points in Tanzania, Mozambique, and Madagascar. Work is scheduled to begin next year, with the cable expected to be operational and ready for service by 2028. The existing DARE1 system is already backed by key players like Hormuud Telecom Somalia, Somtel International, and Telkom Kenya.
Recent connectivity outages in East Africa have highlighted the vulnerability of regional internet traffic, which often relies on a limited number of routes. For example, in May 2024, simultaneous faults on the EASSy and SEACOM cables disrupted service from Kenya to Tanzania. By adding more subsea capacity and creating diverse paths, the DARE1 extension will reduce single points of failure, improving performance for critical services such as cloud computing, streaming, and fintech.
This project aligns with Djibouti’s broader strategy of investing in its digital infrastructure. Over the past decade, the country has invested over $200 million in more than a dozen subsea cables. This effort is also supported by regional initiatives like the Eastern Africa Regional Digital Integration Project, which aims to expand affordable broadband and digital trade links, particularly to landlocked neighbors like Ethiopia.
The extension of DARE1 also intensifies the competition in Africa’s subsea cable market. Other major projects are underway, including Google’s Equiano, which is landing in multiple markets along the west and south Atlantic coasts, and the Meta-backed 2Africa cable, which has already landed segments in Ghana and Nigeria in 2024. For Kenya, where Safaricom is actively seeking new cable-landing rights, DARE1’s southward expansion solidifies Mombasa’s role as a critical hub for African internet traffic.
