AFR-IX Plans to Build a New Subsea Cable System, Medusa

AFR-IX have confirmed their plans to build a new subsea cable system for €326 million called Medusa. The cable system is reportedly going to be partially financed by the European Investment Bank with an endowment of €163 million.

The cable is expected to connect Lisbon and Sines, Portugal to Port Said, Egypt spanning over 8700km. The subsea cable is a 24-fiber pair, 480Tbps (20Tbs per fiber pair) system.

“There is a combination of factors that lead us to invest in this cable: in addition to the fact that there are some submarine cables in the Mediterranean that are reaching the end of their life cycle (and that need alternatives), it is known that the telecommunications traffic generated in Africa has grown at an average of 55% per year.

We are neutral and provide services to anyone who asks us. And we can also present alternative services with routes that may not be very interesting for cables managed by content producers or by consortia of telecommunications operators

Norman Albi, CEO, AFR-IX (From a report from a Portuguese newspaper Expresso)