A Mediterranean subsea link has been activated on the 2Africa subsea cable system, according to a statement released on Thursday by Telecom Egypt, Egypt’s leading telecom provider and one of the biggest subsea cable providers in the country.
The initiative is being carried out in partnership with Cisco, the global leader in security and networking solutions.
Utilising Cisco’s state-of-the-art Network Convergence System (NCS), the link establishes a high-capacity connection via Genoa, Italy between Port Said, Egypt, and Marseille, France.
The demand for more subsea network capacity is being driven by the region’s capacity-intensive applications, such as cloud and AI services, which are growing exponentially. This calls for highly effective, sophisticated coherent transmission technologies.
Capacity for international traffic
Through this project, Telecom Egypt will be able to optimise its subsea assets on the 2Africa subsea cable, increasing the capacity for international traffic and improving the efficiency of its cable operations.
Cisco’s state-of-the-art NCS enables the system to transmit data using Acacia’s multi-haul coherent module, which provides great performance at low power per bit.
Through precise modifications to optical transmission signal bandwidth, modulation format, and spectral efficiency, network operators can increase capacity across any cable.
Connecting Europe (via Egypt to the east), Asia, and Africa, 2Africa is one of the longest subsea cable networks in the world, spanning 45,000 kilometres.
“Collaboration is the cornerstone of innovation”
Mohamed Nasr, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Telecom Egypt, stated:
“Collaboration is the cornerstone of innovation, and we are pleased to be supported by Cisco on this important project.”
“By enhancing the capacity of our well-established subsea infrastructure, we are meeting the surging demand for bandwidth-intensive services such as cloud computing and AI across the Mediterranean and beyond.”
“Today, we reiterate our unwavering commitment to investing in advanced network technologies and solutions to address growing demand while enabling international connectivity through strategic telecommunication highways. Looking ahead, we aim to unlock even more of our potential by developing new projects and launching innovative products and services.”
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“Reliable, fast network connections are more critical than ever in the era of AI”
Gordon Thomson, Vice President, EMEA Service Provider at Cisco, commented:
“In the AI era, reliable and fast network connections are more critical than ever.”
“Our collaboration with Telecom Egypt on the 2Africa cable exemplifies the potential for enhancing network capacity over very long distances.”
“We’re proud to lead the way in supporting the growing demand for robust, high-capacity networks by providing cutting-edge technology that enables Telecom Egypt to optimize its capacity on the 2Africa cable.”