Google is now looking forward to more significant investment in Africa through the Umoja subsea cable system, which will connect South Africa to Australia through the first fiber-optic line. Umoja subsea cable is to be completed by 2026, also expected to substantially enhance internet capability not only for South Africa but for several other countries in Africa such as Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia and Zimbabwe among others.
The project, called “Umoja” which is a Swahili word means “unity” and is under Google’s Africa connect program which include Equiano subsea cable launched in 2023. While equiano transports people and merchandise from Europe to South Africa towards the west coastline of the African continent, Umoja spans the eastern part of Africa, and is highly important for connecting Africa to Australia. This is to indicate that this will be the first time that a cable will directly link Africa to the Asia-Pacific which will open high-speed internet and reliable connectivity between the two continents.
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Layout work has already commenced, ships, and equipment that established the underwater cable system between Perth, Australia, and South Africa exist. The on-land part of the project is already live, offering improved internet reliability and backup for many African countries that historically suffered from network interruptions due to damage to existing cables. Thus, the terrestrial path implemented by Google in partnership with Liquid Intelligent Technologies is expandable with reference to access points to other countries and becomes continental in nature.
Significance
When done the Umoja cable, expected to be very essential especially in reaching out to the enhance the Africa’s digital economy. It has now appeared at the right time since many African countries are witnessing increasing traffic demand in the area of high-speed and reliable internet necessary for the development of communication and various activities related to increased usage of mobile data traffic, cloud services, and other new generation networks such as 5G. This is more relevant for countries such as Kenya which has embarked on aggressive investment in digitalization, cyber security, and data based innovations.
Besides improving the connectivity, the proposed Umoja project will also diversify the communications, hence should there be any interruption on any of these cables, there will always be an option. This is especially true bearing in mind the many cases of undersea cable breaks that have led to massive blackouts of internet across the continent in the recent past.
Umoja subsea cable is a plan that aims to connect Africa with Australia, this great project will not only enhance the internet connection between two continents, but will also assist in creating more communication and economic success by creating digital technology, start-ups, and numerous technology-related breakthroughs throughout the African continent.
By the time this project is complete in 2026, there is light at the end of the tunnel in fixing the digital divide and offering employment prospects to millions throughout the African continent through projects such as Umoja.
Project factsheet
Architect: Google.
Constructor: Liquid Intelligent Technologies.
Start date: 2023.
Completion date: 2026.
Location: The cable will connect South Africa to Perth, Australia, and pass through several African countries, including Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, DRC, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
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