The first branch of the Equiano underwater internet cable, which will eventually run from Cape Town, South Africa to Lisbon, Portugal, has landed in Togo. The internet will be available to millions of people in both Europe and Africa thanks to the massive cable. According to DataReportal, an estimated 74 percent of people in Togo don't have access to the internet. The cable will deliver 20 times more internet capacity to the region.
In 2010, the first co-owned cable project of its kind in the world, called Unity, went into service, thanks to a decade of investment by Google. A total of 19 undersea cables have been invested by the company. The Dunant project went into service in January 2021, and runs from Virginia Beach to the French Coast.
The growth of the mobile internet has led to the increase in the use of undersea cables. According to the Wall Street Journal, Microsoft, Amazon, and Google are the main players in the world's critical cable infrastructure. Last month, Meta announced plans to build at least two cables.
The cables can tear and break due to natural disasters or human activity. Cable breaks along the coast of Africa can leave entire regions without internet for days. A mudslide in South Africa last year caused two undersea cables to break, which led to service disruptions and slowdowns across the entire continent. In the event of a break, a nearby cable can be used as a backup.
Additional insurance will be provided to a region that badly needs it once Equiano is in service. Equiano's next stop will be in Nigeria, and then it will head to Cape Town, South Africa. It is expected to be fully operational later this year.
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