Djibouti Telecom Expands DARE1 Subsea Cable, Connecting East and Southern Africa
Djibouti Telecom has unveiled ambitious plans to significantly expand its Djibouti Africa Regional Express 1 (DARE1) subsea cable system, extending its reach to South Africa by 2028. This announcement comes shortly after Meta’s investment in Safaricom’s Daraja fiber optic network, highlighting the growing focus on improving digital infrastructure across the African continent. The DARE1 expansion aims to boost internet capacity and create more diverse routing options, particularly between East and Southern Africa, supporting the burgeoning digital economy.
Expanding Connectivity: DARE1’s Reach and Impact
The current DARE1 system, operational since 2021, already connects Djibouti City to various locations including Bosaso and Mogadishu in Somalia, and Mombasa, Kenya. It provides a substantial capacity of 36 terabits per second across three fiber pairs. The planned extension will stretch approximately 3,200-3,500 kilometers from Mombasa, Kenya, to Mtunzini in South Africa. The project includes critical landing points in several countries, including Tanzania (Dar es Salaam and Mtwara), Mozambique (Nakala, Beira, and Maputo), and Madagascar (Mahajanga and Toliary). Djibouti Telecom anticipates this expansion will transform DARE1 into a true “regional African cable”, promising increased capacity and potentially lower latency for internet users in the connected regions. This development is vital for advancing digital transformation and fueling growth in several key sectors across the region.
In conclusion, Djibouti Telecom’s strategic investment in extending the DARE1 cable signals a significant stride towards enhanced connectivity and digital infrastructure across Africa. The project is strategically timed to contribute towards Africa’s overall growth by enhancing network capacity. This undertaking underlines the importance of investment in communication infrastructure and its positive effects on the continent’s long-term economic development.
Keywords
Related Keywords: Djibouti Telecom, DARE1 cable, Kenya, South Africa, submarine cable, internet infrastructure, telecommunications, Africa, digital connectivity, cable extension
