2Africa Deployment Underway with First Landing in Genoa, Italy

Highly Anticipated Subsea Cable System Set to Connect 3 Billion People Upon Completion 

GENOA, Italy, April 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2Africa consortium, comprised of China Mobile International, Meta, MTN GlobalConnect, Orange, stc, Telecom Egypt, Vodafone and WIOCC, announced today 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 3 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 Center (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.

Good progress on the survey work and manufacturing continues with the 2Africa project remaining on track for completion in 2024.

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 center 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, China, CMI has expanded its footprint in 36 countries and regions. For more information, please visit www.cmi.chinamobile.com, or to connect with us on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/company/china-mobile-international-limited.

Meta builds technologies that help people connect, find communities, and grow businesses. When Facebook launched in 2004, it changed the way people connect. Apps like Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp further empowered billions around the world. Now, Meta is moving beyond 2D screens toward immersive experiences like augmented and virtual reality to help build the next evolution in social technology.

GlobalConnect is a Pan-African digital wholesale and infrastructure services company, and an operating company in the MTN Group. GlobalConnect manages MTN's international and national major wholesale activities, in addition to offering reliable wholesale and infrastructure solutions for fixed connectivity and wholesale mobility solutions that include international mobile services, Voice, SMS, signalling, roaming and interconnect. The MTN Group launched in 1994 is a leading emerging market operator with a clear vision to lead the delivery of a bold new digital world and is inspired by the belief that everyone deserves the benefits of a modern connected life. Embracing the Ambition 2025 strategy, MTN is anchored on building the largest and most valuable platform business, with a clear focus on Africa. The MTN Group is listed on the JSE Securities Exchange in South Africa under the share code "MTN".
For more information, please visit www.globalconnect.solutions -  https://www.mtn.com

Orange is one of the world's leading telecommunications operators with sales of 42.3 billion euros in 2020 and 140,000 employees worldwide at 31 March 2021, including 80,000 employees in France. The Group has a total customer base of 262 million customers worldwide at 31 March 2021, including 217 million mobile customers and 22 million fixed broadband customers. The Group is present in 26 countries. Orange is also a leading provider of global IT and telecommunication services to multinational companies, under the brand Orange Business Services. In December 2019, the Group presented its new "Engage 2025" strategic plan, which, guided by social and environmental accountability, aims to reinvent its operator model. While accelerating in growth areas and placing data and AI at the heart of its innovation model, the Group will be an attractive and responsible employer, adapted to emerging professions.

Orange is listed on Euronext Paris (symbol ORA) and on the New York Stock Exchange (symbol ORAN). 

For more information on the internet and on your mobile: www.orange.com, www.orange-business.com or to follow us on Twitter: @orangegrouppr.

With its headquarter in Riyadh, stc group is the largest in the Middle East and North Africa based on market cap. stc's revenue for 2020 amounted to 58,953million SAR (15,721 million US dollars) and the net profit amounted to 10,995 million SAR (2,932 million US dollars). stc was established in 1998 and currently has customers around the globe. It is ranking among the world's top 50 digital companies and the first in the Middle East and North Africa according to Forbes. It focuses on providing services to enterprise and consumer customers through a fiber-optic network that spans 217,000 kilometers. stc group was among the first in MENA region to launch 5G networks and was considered one of the fastest globally in deploying 5G network as stc already deployed around 4,000 5G towers as end of 2020. stc group has 14 subsidiaries in the Kingdom, gulf and around the world, and its own 100% of stc Bahrain, 51.8% stake in stc Kuwait and 25% stake in Binariang GSM Holding in Malaysia which owns 62% of Maxis in Malaysia. 

In Saudi Arabia (the group's main operation site) stc operates the largest modern mobile network in the Middle East as it covers more than 99% of the country's populated areas in addition to providing 4G mobile broadband to about 90% of the population across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In addition to the above-mentioned, stc is a strong regional player in IoT, managed services, system integration, cloud computing, information security, big data Analytics fintech and artificial intelligence.  For more information, please visit https://www.stc.com.sa; or to follow us on Twitter: @stc , @stc_ksa 

Telecom Egypt is the first total telecom operator in Egypt providing all telecom services to its customers including fixed and mobile voice and data services. Telecom Egypt has a long history serving Egyptian customers for over 160 years maintaining a leadership position in the Egyptian telecom market by offering its enterprise and consumer customers the most advanced technology, reliable infrastructure solutions and the widest network of submarine cables.  Aside from its mobile operation "WE", the company owns a 45% stake in Vodafone Egypt. Telecom Egypt's shares and GDRs (Ticker: ETEL.CA; TEEG.LN) are traded on The Egyptian Exchange and the London Stock Exchange. Please refer to Telecom Egypt's full financial disclosure on ir.te.eg

For more information, contact: The investor relations team, Email: [email protected] 

Unique in its scale as the largest pan-European and African technology communications company, Vodafone transforms the way we live and work through its innovation, technology, connectivity, platforms, products and services. Vodafone operates mobile and fixed networks in 21 countries, and partners with mobile networks in 47 more.  As of 31 December 2021, we had over 300m mobile customers, more than 28m fixed broadband customers and over 22m TV customers.

Vodafone is a world leader in the Internet of Things (IoT), connecting more than 142m devices and platforms through innovation that aligns with the aspirations of society for cleaner and safer cities, better transport and improved agriculture. Vodafone's digital leadership is also changing how governments deliver healthcare and education, and how businesses, particularly Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), serve customers.

We have revolutionised fintech in Africa through M-Pesa, which celebrates its 15th anniversary in 2022. It is the region's largest fintech platform, providing access to financial services for more than 51m people in a secure, affordable and convenient way.

Our purpose is to connect for a better future, enabling an inclusive and sustainable digital society. We are taking significant steps to reduce our impact on our planet by becoming net zero by 2040, purchasing 100% of our electricity from renewable sources in Europe and across our entire operations by 2025, and reusing, reselling or recycling 100% of our redundant network equipment. Vodafone proactively works to expand access to connectivity for rural communities, students and jobseekers. For more than 30 years, Vodafone's Foundation has supported communities in Europe and Africa in the areas of health, education, and equality.

We support diversity and inclusion through our maternity and parental leave policies, empowering women through connectivity and improving access to education and digital skills for women, girls, and society at large. We are respectful of all individuals, irrespective of race, ethnicity, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, belief, culture or religion.

For more information, please visit www.vodafone.com, follow us on Twitter at @VodafoneGroup or connect with us on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/vodafone. 

WIOCC is building Africa's first, truly hyper-scale network infrastructure. With the ability to efficiently deliver 100Gbps capacity and an extensive investment programme to develop our pan-African solution even further, WIOCC is the natural partner for OTTs, content providers, telecom operators, and ISPs looking to take advantage of Africa's opportunities. The company utilises more than 55,000km of terrestrial fibre and in excess of 75,000km of submarine cable assets to offer affordable, reliable, managed connectivity to over 550 locations across 30 African countries. WIOCC's international reach extends to key commercial centres in Europe, Asia, and North America, providing a one-stop shop for fully-scalable international connectivity into, within, and out of Africa. Operating exclusively as a wholesaler, the company's focus is on putting you, our client, first. Building and maintaining strong, long-term relationships means WIOCC can develop bespoke solutions to meet your current requirements, with the flexibility to match future demands for growth and extra resilience and geographical expansion. You will find that only WIOCC has the depth of experience, local expertise, capacity, flexibility, and scalability to take you where you want to be. For more information, please visit http://wiocc.net/.

Alcatel Submarine Networks, part of Nokia, leads the industry in terms of transmission capacity and installed base with more than 650,000 km of optical submarine systems deployed worldwide, enough to circumnavigate the globe 15 times. From traditional Telecom applications to Content and "Over The Top" Service Provider infrastructures, as well as to offshore Oil and Gas applications, ASN provides all elements of a turnkey global undersea transmission systems, tailored to individual customer's needs. An extensive Services porLolio completes its comprehensive offering for the submarine business, including project management, installation and commissioning, along with marine and maintenance operations performed by ASN's fully owned fleet of cable ships. For more information, please visit https://web.asn.com/en/.

SOURCE 2Africa