List of terrestrial fibre optic cable projects in Africa

This is a list of terrestrial fibre optic cable projects in Africa. While submarine communications cables are used to connect countries and continents to the Internet, terrestrial fibre optic cables are used to extend this connectivity to landlocked countries or to urban centers within a country that has submarine cable access. In most of the world, a large number of such cables exist, often amounting to robust Internet backbones. The lack of such high-speed cables poses a great problem for most African countries. The construction of both submarine cables and their terrestrial extensions is thus considered an important step to economic growth and development to many African countries.^[1]

Countries

Algeria

Operator	Started	Notes	Ref
Algérie Télécom	2011	About 200,000 km (120,000 mi) of fiber optic cables had been deployed as of December 31, 2021.	[2][3][4]

Angola

Operator	Started	Notes	Ref
Africell	2022		[5][6]
Angola Telecom	1996		[7][8]
Unitel	2014		[9]
Zap Fibra	2017		[10]

Benin

Operator	Started	Notes	Ref
Benin Telecoms	2016		[11][12]
Liquid Telecom	2018		[13]
Phase3 Telecom	2009		[14]
Suburban Telecoms	2007		[15]

Botswana

Operator	Started	Notes	Ref
Botswana Fibre Networks	2012	Completed the Trans-Kalahari Fibre Optic Project in 2008.	[16][17]
Mascom	2013	In 2018, Mascom announced they would be laying Botswana's "first fibre-to-the-home service."	[18]
Paratus Botswana			[19]

Burkina Faso

Operator	Started	Notes	Ref
Bharti Airtel			[20]
Group Vivendi Africa	2021		[21][22]
Onatel	2020	State-run	[22]
Orange S.A.	2021		[20][22][23][24]

Burundi

Operator	Started	Notes	Ref
Burundi Backbone Service		Burundi launched an ICT backbone in 2016.	[25]
Viettel/Lumitel
Onatel Burundi		Website content offline as of 5/24/2018
SEACOM			[26]

Cameroon

Operator	Started	Notes	Ref
MTN Group			[27][28]
Camtel		State-owned	[29][30][31]

Chad

Operator	Started	Notes	Ref
Camtel	2012		[32][33]
SudaChad			[33][34]
Sudatel			[33]

Cote d'Ivoire

Operator	Started	Notes	Ref
Cote d'Ivoire Telecom
MTN Group Cote d'Ivoire			[35]
National Agency for Universal Service Telecommunications	2013	In 2013, Huawei began building a 6,700 km national fibre network on behalf of the government.	[36][37]
Orange S.A. Cote d'Ivoire			[35][23][24]

Democratic Republic of Congo

Operator	Started	Notes	Ref
Liquid Telecom			[38]
Paratus Group	2022		[39]

Djibouti

Operator	Started	Notes	Ref
Djibouti Telecom	2007	Government-run	[40]
SEACOM			[26]

Egypt

Operator	Started	Notes	Ref
Sudatel			[41]
Telecom Egypt			[41]

eSwatini

Operator	Started	Notes	Ref
MTN Group eSwatini			[42]
Paratus			[42]
Telecom			[42]

Ethiopia

See also: Telecommunications in Ethiopia

Operator	Started	Notes	Ref
Ethio telecom		[43]

Gambia

Operator	Started	Notes	Ref
Gamtel	2010

Ghana

See also: Telecommunications in Ghana

Operator	Started	Notes	Ref
AirtelTigo	2017	Merger of Tigo and Bharti Airtel
Expresso Telecom Ghana
MTN Ghana
National Communications Backbone Company		NCBC is a subsidiary of Vodafone Ghana.
Orange S.A.			[23][24]
Tigo		Merged with Bharti Airtel in 2017 to become AirtelTigo.

Guinea

Operator	Started	Notes	Ref
Orange S.A.			[23][24]

Kenya

See also: Telecommunications in Kenya

Operator	Started	Notes	Ref
AccessKenya Group
Airtel Kenya
Jamii Telecom
Kenya Data Networks
Kenya Power
National Optical Fibre Backbone Infrastructure
Safaricom
SEACOM			[26]
Telkom Kenya			[44]

Liberia

Operator	Started	Notes	Ref
Orange S.A.			[23][24]

Madagascar

Operator	Started	Notes	Ref
Telecom Malagasy (Telma)

Malawi

Operator	Started	Notes	Ref
Malawi Telecommunications		MTL appears to have completed its domestic fibre optic network in early 2012.	[45]
Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi

Mali

Operator	Started	Notes	Ref
Gouvernement du Mali		In 2011, the Malian government announced a 942 km fibre optic cable project linking Bamako-Gao-Kidal-Tin-Zaoutière to the Algerian border and Gap-Ansongo-Labezanga to the border of Niger. The project was funded by a $45 million loan from the Exim Bank of China.	[46]
Orange S.A.			[47][23][24]
Sotelma/Malitel			[48]

Mauritania

Operator	Started	Notes	Ref
Mauritel		In May 2011, Mauritel launched a fiber optic cable project linking the towns of Nouakchott and Kobonni.	[49][50]

Morocco

Operator	Started	Notes	Ref
Maroc Telecom		60% of regional fibre network completed in 2010.	[51]

Mozambique

Operator	Started	Notes	Ref
Telecomunicações de Moçambique

Namibia

Operator	Started	Notes	Ref
NamPower
Paratus Africa		Various fiber projects deployed since 2011. Full FTTx deployment in various towns. Cross-country backhaul fiber from WACS (West Africa Cable Landing Station) through Namibia connecting various land-locked countries around Namibia.[citation needed]
Telecom Namibia			[52]

Niger

Operator	Started	Notes	Ref
SONITEL

Nigeria

Operator	Started	Notes	Ref
21st Century Technology
Globacom			[53][54]
MTN Group Nigeria
Multi-Links		Purchased by Helios in 2011; at this time, Multi-Links had a terrestrial fibre optic network spanning 8,232 km in Nigeria.	[55][56][57]
NITEL
Orange S.A.			[24]
Phase3 Telecom		In 2011, Phase3 were building the West Africa One network, an aerial optic fibre transmission system which runs from Nigeria to Benin and Togo.	[58][59]
Suburban Telecoms			Backbone Connectivity Network (Nig) Limited has built over 5,000 km of fiber optic networks in Northern Nigeria, comprising metropolitan fiber networks and long distance backbone networks especially in Abuja and North West Nigeria. it is the largest broadband connectivity operator providing high capacity internet services, data transmission services and solutions and access to all the data centres in Nigeria. it is currently expanding its footprint to cover the whole country. lt

Rwanda

Operator	Started	Notes	Ref
Green Future	2009		[60]
MTN Group Rwanda
Rwanda Development Board		The physical deployment of the RDB's network was completed in January 2011.	[61][62]
Rwandatel
SEACOM		Partnered with KT Corporation	[26]

Senegal

See also: Telecommunications in Senegal

Operator	Started	Notes	Ref
Orange S.A.			[24]
Sonatel			[63]

Somalia

See also: Communications in Somalia

Operator	Started	Notes	Ref
Hormuud Telecom/Liquid Telecom	2013		[64]
SEACOM			[26]
SomCable		Licensed with 25 years of exclusivity for Metro and Backbone fiber optic infrastructure building.[citation needed]

South Africa

Operator	Started	Notes	Ref
Broadband Infraco		Broadband Infraco is a South African State Owned Entity (SOE) that is intended to participate in those segments of the telecommunications market and value chain that impede private sector development and innovation in telecoms services and content offerings. Broadband Infraco maintains a national long distance fibre optic network, providing high capacity telecommunication services between all major national metropolitan centres and being expanded to enable connectivity to reach smaller cities and rural areas.	[65]
BWired		Announced in August 2011, BWired invested $600 million in regional fibre infrastructure.	[66]
Dark Fibre Africa		Community Investment Ventures (CIV) and VenFin are the principal shareholders in DFA. ABSA Capital, who are a stakeholder in CIV via New GX Capital Holdings, also backs CIV. Shareholders in Dark Fibre Africa have granted the necessary approvals to adequately capitalize the company for the construction of a nationwide Dark Fibre Infrastructure. This funding exceeded R2Bn by 2013.	[67]
Fibreco	2012	Established in 2009 as an equal partnership between CellC, Internet Solutions and Convergence Partners.	[68][69]
Neotel
NLD Consortium		A consortium made up of Neotel, MTN Group, and Vodacom deployed a national fibre network in South Africa in 2012.	[70]
Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa		In 2013, PRASA announced plans to lease excess fibre capacity.	[71]
Telkom		Telkom is the dominant operator and has the largest fibre network in South Africa, covering approximately 143,000 km as per the 2011 annual report.	[72][73]

South Sudan

Operator	Started	Notes	Ref
South Sudanese Government	2013		[74]
SEACOM			[26]

Sudan

Operator	Started	Notes	Ref
Sudatel			[34]

Tanzania

See also: Telecommunications in Tanzania

Operator	Started	Notes	Ref
Consortium		A consortium of TIGO, Zantel, Vodacom, and Airtel.
CTV		Fiber to the building, mainly in Dar es Salaam.[citation needed]
National Information & Communication Technology Broadband Backbone (NICTBB)	2010	Funded by a soft loan from the Chinese government, the NICTBB is being built by the Tanzanian government and will be operated by the Tanzania Telecommunications Corporation	[75][76]
Raha/Liquid Telecom		Metro fiber - Dar es Salaam.[citation needed]
SEACOM			[26]
SimbaNET		Metro fiber - Dar es Salaam.[citation needed]
TANESCO

Togo

Operator	Started	Notes	Ref
Phase3 Telecom	2009		[14]
Togo Telecom			[77]

Uganda

See also: Communications in Uganda

Operator	Started	Notes	Ref
Ministry of Information and Communications Technology/National Information Technology Authority-Uganda
SEACOM	2009		[26][78]
Uganda Telecom

Zambia

See also: Telecommunications in Zambia

Operator	Started	Notes	Ref
Copperbelt Energy Corporation (CEC)	2008		[79][80]
Zambia Telecommunications			[79]
ZESCO			[81]

Zimbabwe

Operator	Started	Notes	Ref
Africom
Dark Fibre Africa	2019		[82][83]
Liquid Telecom			[84]
Powertel
Telecel Zimbabwe	2014		[85]
TelOne	2010	Built with Chinese workers via Huawei.	[86]

Notes

This list was initially developed as part of AfTerFibre,^[87] a project to map terrestrial fibre optic cable projects in Africa. The project was sponsored by Google Africa and, on completion, will be hosted by the UbuntuNet Alliance. All information gathered by the project will be publicly available under an open license.^{[citation needed]}

See also

• List of international submarine communications cables
• Central African Backbone
• Kenya Data Networks
• Telecommunications in Namibia
• Internet in Ethiopia
• People's Republic of China – Ghana relations