A submarine Internet cable backed by Meta Platforms and a range of telecommunications operators has been brought ashore north of Cape Town.
The 2Africa system, which will eventually encircle the African continent, has been landed at two points, Yzerfontein and Duynefontein, both in the Western Cape. The Yzerfontein landing will support the 2Africa West cable and an MTN South Africa landing station in nearby Duynefontein will support the 2Africa East cable.
The cable system, which will have a final design length of an extraordinary 45 000km — making it one of the longest such systems ever built — is backed by the Facebook parent Meta Platforms as well as a range of telecommunications operators, including MTN Group, Orange, Center3, Telecom Egypt, Vodafone Group and Wiocc.
The images below, courtesy of MTN South Africa, show the work involved in landing the cable on the beach. For more about 2Africa and the South African landing of the cable system, read TechCentral’s full coverage story here.
