The Medusa Submarine Cable System and Moroccan telecom provider Inwi have partnered in an effort to improve trans-Mediterranean connectivity. Through this strategic alliance, an underwater cable system intended to link Morocco directly to Southern Europe – more precisely, from Nador to Marseille – will be deployed, representing a significant advancement in the development of regional digital infrastructure.
The development and maintenance of dedicated optical-fiber connections within a new undersea cable is the main goal of the partnership between Inwi and Medusa. With a remarkable length of 7,100 kilometers, this effort might stand out as the largest of its type in the Mediterranean. With its strategic location connecting the Atlantic to the Mediterranean and Red Sea, the Medusa cable system would provide an essential conduit for connection between Asia and the Atlantic. Inwi’s clients will have a variety of secured connectivity alternatives thanks to this new infrastructure, which is anticipated to be crucial in sustaining the steady increase of fixed and Internet traffic.
The investment that Inwi has made in this initiative would demonstrate its commitment to provide its customers with cutting-edge, secured optical-fiber solutions while promoting the expansion of Morocco’s digital economy.
€90M EU Financing
The European Investment Bank (EIB), which provided a €50 million loan (about MAD 558 million) in December 2022, has been a major financial backer of the Medusa project. The project’s significance to the European and Mediterranean digital strategy was further highlighted by the European Commission, which provided a €40 million grant (about MAD 446 million) to support the financing.
Nine countries in the Mediterranean region would stand to gain from the construction of the Medusa undersea cable, including four countries in North Africa and five in Europe (France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Cyprus) and Algeria. With 12 landing points – two of which are in Morocco – the cable would promise to provide high-speed, secured connectivity, greatly enhancing the countries’ research and educational sectors.
