Seacom, an African submarine infrastructure operator, has announced the launch of Seacom 2.0 , an international cable system designed to connect Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
The project envisages a 25,000-kilometer (15,534-mile) long route, equipped with 48 pairs of optical fibers , with 20 landing points spread across 15 countries .
According to the company, the new cable meets the growing demand for artificial intelligence, cloud, and real-time data services. Seacom claims the network could reduce connectivity costs by up to 300% , fostering the development of cloud services, fintech, and the regional technology ecosystem.
The planned route begins in Marseille, France ; crosses the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea before branching into two branches: the first continues east to Singapore , passing through India and Pakistan ; the second serves the coasts of North Africa , West Africa and Southern Africa .
In the official statement, CEO Alpheus Mangale defined Seacom 2.0 as “more than just a cable ,” emphasizing that the initiative aims to consolidate the region’s digital sovereignty and promote open access and regional integration. The company’s goal is to create a resilient, sustainable, and inclusive network.
From a technical perspective, Seacom 2.0 is designed as a high-capacity, low-latency infrastructure optimized for AI workloads. The landing stations are expected to transform into true “AI communication nodes,” connecting Africa’s sovereign AI infrastructure to global data centers.
The project includes strategic economic and operational objectives: stimulating GDP growth—building on the positive impact already observed from previous submarine cables, which helped increase Africa’s GDP per capita by over 6% —supporting smart infrastructure (IoT-enabled ports, AI-based urban planning, edge computing), and empowering small and medium-sized businesses with enterprise-grade connectivity for access to the cloud and digital markets.
Seacom 2.0 builds on the operator’s existing network, launched in 2009 in partnership with Tata Communications . Seacom operates landing stations along the east coast of Africa and holds capacity on major international systems such as WACS, TEAMS, EASSy, Main One, Equiano , and Peace . Investors include Industrial Promotion Services (Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development) , Remgro , Solcon Capital , and Sanlam .
The announcement also draws on macro projections: Seacom positions Seacom 2.0 to predict 10 billion AI agents by 2030 and the projected population growth of the Indian Ocean basin, which is estimated to be home to half the world’s population by 2050 .
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