Vodafone Group has achieved a significant milestone with the landing of the 2Africa subsea cable in the UK cable hub of Bude, Cornwall. This massive project is touted as the world’s largest subsea cable system, designed to substantially enhance global internet connectivity by linking three continents – Europe, Africa, and Asia.
Spanning over 45,000 kilometers, 2Africa boasts a potential capacity of up to 180 terabits per second, significantly boosting the Internet infrastructure capacity available to Africa compared to existing cables.
2Africa aims to address the surging demand for digital services like mobile and fixed broadband across continents, with particular emphasis on improving connectivity between Africa and other regions. This cable is expected to support the digital activities of UK businesses in Africa and vice versa, facilitating smoother and more reliable digital communications.
China Mobile International, Orange, Meta
Vodafone, the lead partner for this segment of the project in the UK, is tasked with managing the installation process from the shores of Cornwall to the cable’s integration into the broader network infrastructure leading to London. The cable system’s installation and manufacturing are overseen by Alcatel Submarine Networks.
The consortium behind 2Africa includes major global communications entities such as China Mobile International, Orange, and Meta, among others. This partnership would reflect a strong commitment to addressing global connectivity needs and is poised to make a significant impact on the digital divide, particularly in underconnected regions.
Vodafone has dual-fibre cables with a twenty-five-year lifetime. It has just lately begun to transport customer traffic on its segment of the cable. The twin-fibre pairs that Vodafone owns in the cable system bear Rick Perry’s name, who is the Head of Subsea Partnerships at Vodafone Group. SHARP (the System Honoring the Achievements of Rick Perry) is the name given to the Vodafone system.
From the start of the cable project, Rick Perry has been engaged. His 50 years in worldwide communications are recognized by the Vodafone cable’s designation.
He was a student at the neighboring Cable & Wireless training college and is now a trustee of the PK Porthcurno Museum of Global Communications, which is housed on the college’s grounds. For his achievements to the telecom sector, Perry received an OBE in 1999 and a CBE ten years later.
“2Africa is the world’s most ambitious cable system and will help to narrow the digital divide in Africa,” said Rick Perry. “Having landed in the UK, it’s great that the SHARP system is now online and serving customers.”
