Intelligent CIO Middle East Issue 78 | Page 63

INTELLIGENT BRANDS // Cabling

2Africa deployment underway with first landing in Genoa

The 2Africa consortium , comprised of China Mobile International , Meta , MTN GlobalConnect , Orange , stc , Telecom Egypt , Vodafone and WIOCC , has announced the first landing of the 2Africa cable – in Genoa , Italy . The landing sets the tone for more landings in the coming months as the cable is extended to a total of 46 locations by the completion of the project in 2024 .

Announced in May 2020 , the 2Africa subsea cable system together with its Pearls extension are designed to deliver seamless international connectivity to approximately three billion people , representing 36 % of the global population and connecting three continents , Africa , Europe and Asia .
At 45,000km , it will be the longest subsea cable ever deployed , serving communities that rely on the Internet for services from education to healthcare and business , with all experiencing the economic and social benefits that come from this increased connectivity .
Vodafone , the 2Africa landing party in Genoa , has partnered with Equinix to land the cable directly into the Equinix Carrier Neutral Data Centre ( CNDC ), with Retelit delivering the fronthaul . As with all 2Africa cable landings , capacity will be available to service providers in Genoa on a fair and equitable basis , encouraging and supporting the development of a healthy Internet ecosystem .
Working with a local Italian operator , 2Africa has also developed a new terrestrial route connecting the Genoa cable landing station ( CLS ) directly to major CNDCs in Milan .
China Mobile International Limited ( CMI ) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of China Mobile , mainly responsible for the operation of
China Mobile ’ s international business . In order to provide better services to meet the growing demand in the international telecommunications market , China Mobile established a subsidiary , CMI , in December 2010 . CMI currently has over 70 terrestrial and submarine cable resources worldwide , with a total international transmission bandwidth of over 109T , and a total of 225 PoPs . With Hong Kong , China as its launchpad , CMI has significantly accelerated global IDC development , creating a strong network for data centre cloudification .
Leveraging the strong support by China Mobile , CMI is a trusted partner that provides comprehensive international information services and solutions to international enterprises , carriers and mobile users . Headquartered in Hong Kong , CMI has expanded its footprint in 36 countries and regions . p
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