Orange Backed Initiative Promises Enhanced Internet Access

Orange, a global telecommunications leader, is spearheading a 20,000-kilometer subsea cable project called Via Africa that will connect Nigeria with nearly 20 other countries across Africa and Europe. This ambitious initiative aims to address persistent connectivity challenges while supporting the continent’s rapidly growing digital economy.

Addressing Critical Infrastructure Gaps

Nigeria, already home to eight submarine cables—the most in West Africa—continues to experience fiber cuts, vandalism, and network congestion as internet usage surges nationwide. The new cable will provide redundancy and alternative routes, reducing reliance on single points of failure that have previously disrupted services across multiple countries.

“Every two days somewhere in the world you have a cable cut or failure,” explained Michaël Trabbia, CEO of Orange Wholesale. “You need different routes to ensure continued connectivity when disruptions occur.” The project is still open to additional partners, with final landing points evolving as more operators join.

Strategic Implications for African Markets

The Via Africa cable represents a significant investment in digital infrastructure at a time when outages on existing systems have exposed vulnerabilities across the continent. By introducing new pathways and increasing bandwidth capacity, this project will support growth in sectors like fintech, e-commerce, healthcare, and education.

With over half of Africa’s international bandwidth currently concentrated in just five countries—Nigeria, South Africa, Egypt, Algeria, and Kenya—the new cable promises to distribute digital resources more equitably across the region. The Atlantic corridor route will provide direct connectivity between West Africa and Europe, bypassing Mediterranean transit points.

Future-Proofing Digital Investments

As with all subsea cables, Via Africa is being designed for long-term efficiency and resilience. Modern systems can carry significantly more data than older ones, and the new cable will incorporate advanced protection technologies to minimize damage from marine activity—a frequent cause of outages in existing infrastructure.

Orange anticipates that this project will attract hyperscalers and data centre operators looking to expand digital investments across Africa, further strengthening the continent’s position in the global technology landscape.