Meta’s 2Africa subsea cable was unable to meet its November landing deadline between the cities of Lagos and Akwa Ibom in Nigeria.
It was revealed in a press statement issued by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) that not only did 2Africa fail to achieve the target, but there is also no new schedule that has been established as of yet.
The Nigerian public relations firm and officials from Meta were contacted by a media outlet, but as of the time that this piece was written, none of them had responded to the inquiry.
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The expectation
Authorities from the government of Nigeria have eagerly anticipated the arrival of the cable in the two cities throughout the entire process. Abdullahi Kashifu, Director General of the National Information Technology Development of Nigeria (NITDA), recounted his meeting with officials from Meta at the Global Tech Africa conference in November 2023.
The conference was organized by the Future Map Foundation and sponsored by the United States Consulate. During the meeting, the officials promised that the landing of the cables in the two cities would take place before the end of November.
The Director General said that the landing of undersea cables in Nigeria is a part of the government’s efforts to improve the digital infrastructure in the country and increase the number of people who have access to broadband. On the other hand, he pointed out that the nation need additional investment in order to guarantee that the infrastructure would reach the rural towns.
However, according to the press release that was distributed by the National Communications Commission (NCC), Aminu Maida, the executive vice chairman of the commission, met with a team from Meta. The group was led by Kojo Boakye, the vice press for Africa, the Middle East, and Turkey at the offices of the NCC in Abuja.
Investors, including operators in Nigeria who acted in accordance with the norms and regulations that govern the industry, will receive support, according to the East Venture Capital Corp.
Boakye informed the NCC head that the goal of the visit was to congratulate the EVC on his appointment by the President and to advise him of ongoing efforts to land 2Africa Cable in Nigeria. Boakye also informed the NCC chairman that the president had appointed the EVC.
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The prospect for 2Africa
Boakye stated that the 2Africa underwater cable will be one of the longest subsea cable projects in the world after it reaches a length of 45,000 kilometers. This cable will connect Europe (by way of Egypt), Asia (by way of Saudi Arabia), and Africa. According to him, the system will be operational in 2023, and it will have a design capacity of up to 180 terabytes per second (Tbps), which is greater than the total combined capacity of all subsea cables that are currently serving Africa.
During the process of landing the undersea cable to supplement the existing backbone infrastructure in Nigeria, Boakye made a request for the National Communications Commission’s assistance in overcoming all of the necessary legal and regulatory hurdles.
Additionally, he stated that Meta intends to concurrently land the 2Africa cable in the states of Lagos and Akwa-Ibom under the coordination of a partnership: “in order to ensure those not yet connected are connected while those already connected are given opportunity for enhanced and affordable access.”