{"id":73986,"date":"2025-10-14T13:16:16","date_gmt":"2025-10-14T13:16:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/73986\/"},"modified":"2025-10-14T13:16:16","modified_gmt":"2025-10-14T13:16:16","slug":"africas-future-internet-could-be-on-innovative-overland-submarine-cables","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/73986\/","title":{"rendered":"Africa’s Future Internet Could Be On Innovative Overland Submarine Cables"},"content":{"rendered":"

When it comes to digital infrastructure in Africa, few things are more pressing than the need for faster, more resilient, and more direct connectivity between the continent\u2019s east and west coasts. As things stand today, if a submarine cable is cut north of Mombasa, data traffic must travel all the way down to South Africa, across the country, and back up the West Coast to reach Europe or the Americas. That detour not only adds significant cost but also doubles latency \u2013 something no cloud-reliant business or internet user wants.<\/p>\n

However, what if we flipped the model? We aim to explore an innovative new concept: Utilising submarine cable technology to address the longstanding challenges in Africa\u2019s terrestrial infrastructure.
\nWhat\u2019s the Big Idea?
\nSEACOM<\/a>\u2018s Head of Transmission Engineering, Nic Breytenbach and Afrim Beka, Director of Submarine Network Solutions at Nokia conceptualised using Subsea technology over land. The key problem is that building a direct fibre route from East to West Africa has never been done. Why? Because it\u2019s complicated, and there are two main reasons for this:<\/p>\n

Infrastructure gaps: Long-distance terrestrial fibre routes ideally require repeater sites every 60 to 80 kilometres. These sites need reliable power and physical security, both of which are in short supply in large parts of Central Africa.
\nInaccessible terrain: Central Africa, with its swamplands, rainforests, desert environments and political instability, is hostile to traditional fibre builds, which require trenching, civil works, and constant maintenance access.<\/p>\n

Submarine cable systems are designed to operate underwater, endure high pressure, and function without external power. They are powered from the ends using high-voltage DC via power feeding equipment (PFEs). The idea we proposed is to utilise submarine systems inland, in regions where building and powering traditional repeater sites is not feasible.
\nIt may sound unconventional, but the advantages are clear.<\/p>\n

First, you eliminate the need for utility power along the route, since the system is powered from both ends.
\nSecond, these cables are already engineered to withstand harsh environments, including wetlands, extreme temperatures, and other challenging conditions.
\nLastly, they offer performance benefits.<\/p>\n

When building traditional terrestrial networks, the fibre span lengths between repeater sites are often uneven, ranging from 45km to 130km or more, depending on geography and infrastructure availability. This irregular repeater spacing affects performance, particularly the optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR). Submarine systems, by contrast, use evenly spaced repeaters, which leads to a better OSNR and a more stable network.
\nConnecting the dots \u2013 and the people
\nOne of the most exciting aspects of this model is the potential to create \u201cadd-drop\u201d points along the route. This means that landlocked countries such as Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia, and Malawi, among others, could tap into the cable, providing them with access to submarine systems on either coast.
\nOf course, these drop points would still need localised infrastructure and utility power. However, even a few strategic access nodes could significantly enhance digital inclusion for millions of Africans.
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\nAs with any ambitious infrastructure project, there are challenges to overcome. The first is regulatory and political. Laying cable across multiple countries requires securing permits, engaging with governments, and, in some cases, navigating civil unrest or post-conflict instability. It might require high-level engagement from shareholders or even foreign affairs ministries to get buy-in.<\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s the issue of vandalism. Submarine systems send electricity through copper tubing inside the cable. Copper, as we know, is a high-value commodity. To deter theft, one approach is to use aluminium instead of copper. It carries current just as well for this purpose, but has little to no resale value. An education drive to inform communities about the nature of the cable \u2013 and the fact that it\u2019s not worth stealing \u2013 would also be critical.
\nWhile most of our examples focused on swamplands and rainforests, the same principle applies in desert environments as well. But there, the challenge changes. Deserts like the Sahara are not static. Sand dunes shift constantly. So, how do you track or recover a buried cable?
\nOne idea is to install satellite tracking devices at intervals to help locate the cable over time. Another is to anchor the cable to concrete blocks, buried deep enough to stabilise it despite dune movement. Alternatively, you could let it \u201cfloat\u201d with the sand, though this would require additional testing and monitoring.
\nA bold vision within reach
\n\"Nic<\/p>\n

Nic Breytenbach, Senior Transmission Architect at SEACOM<\/p>\n

So, is this actually doable? Yes. With regulatory backing and funding, a project like this could be built within two years. However, some fibre manufacturing facilities for high-capacity systems are booked out until 2032; leaner 16-pair options are more readily available and commercially viable. Selling just a few fibre pairs could recoup a significant portion of the investment from day one.
\nThis concept aligns perfectly with SEACOM\u2019s Seabeyond strategy: building future-ready infrastructure tailored to Africa\u2019s realities, rather than replicating legacy models. People are already seeing the value. Now it\u2019s about moving from idea to implementation. With the right partners, we can leap forward, not just around geography, but around history. Because Africa\u2019s digital future won\u2019t just be built on land, it will be inspired by the sea.
\nBy Nic Breytenbach, Senior Transmission Architect at SEACOM<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When it comes to digital infrastructure in Africa, few things are more pressing than the need for faster,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":73987,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[85,123,46,125],"class_list":{"0":"post-73986","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-internet","8":"tag-il","9":"tag-internet","10":"tag-israel","11":"tag-technology"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73986","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=73986"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73986\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/73987"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73986"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=73986"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=73986"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}