Meta has taken a stake in Safaricom’s subsea fibre-optic cable project. This subsea cable project will strengthen the digital links between East Africa and the Middle East. Safaricom is listed as the project proponent in the Facebook submarine partnership. This undertaking is dubbed as the Daraja Fibre Optic Cable.
Daraja Fibre Optic Cable Project Factsheet
Project name: Daraja, which means “bridge” in Swahili.
Purpose: To build a new, high-capacity subsea fiber optic cable to improve internet speed, reliability, and security in Kenya and the wider East African region.
Route: The subsea cable will run from the coastal city of Mombasa, Kenya, to Oman in the Middle East.
Length: The cable is approximately 4,108 kilometers long.
Capacity: The Daraja system is designed with 24 fiber pairs, a significant increase from the 8 to 16 pairs typical in many older subsea cables. Also, this will provide a substantial boost in bandwidth.
Cost: The project is estimated to cost US$23 million.
Developers:
- Lead Developer: Safaricom PLC, Kenya’s largest telecommunications operator.
- Co-Investor: Meta, through its infrastructure affiliate, Edge Network Services. This partnership highlights the growing involvement of global tech companies in building internet infrastructure in Africa.
Launch date: The project is scheduled to go live and be ready for service in 2026.
Current status: An Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) has been submitted to and approved by Kenya’s National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), allowing the project to proceed with construction.
Launching Date
“The Daraja Project is expected to go live in 2026. Furthermore, the project will deliver much-needed internet capacity and enhanced reliability between Oman and Kenya. Furthermore, it will supplement the fast-growing demand in both countries,” This was revealed by the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report that was filed with Kenya’s National Environment Management Authority (Nema).
“The Daraja Cable project will underpin the further growth of 4G, 5G, and fixed broadband access for hundreds of thousands of people.”
Capacity
Additionally, Daraja system will deploy 24 fibre pairs compared with the usual 8 to 16 on existing cables. Therefore this will give it significantly higher capacity.
Safaricom obtained clearance last month from Nema to land the cable at Nyali beach. Also, the routes of the cable will stretch into Tanzanian waters as well.
Furthermore, the investment aligns with Meta’s broader strategy to construct a total of 50,000-kilometre global subsea cable network. This includes the 2Africa and Pearls system that already connects dozens of countries across Africa, Europe, and Asia.
Benefits of the Project to Kenya
Also, for Kenya, the Oman–Mombasa link is expected to enhance redundancy for a market that has experienced costly internet disruptions from breaks in the Red Sea and East African cable systems.
Furthermore, it will position Mombasa as a critical landing hub, joining ongoing projects such as Africa-1, PEACE, and the DARE1 extension.
Similar Projects
In a similar project, Nokia will also be participating in the development of Medusa submarine cable project in North Africa. As a technology and equipment provider, Nokia’s strategy is to supply the cutting-edge hardware and software that make these cables functional. Lastly, by “powering” the Medusa Submarine Cable System, Nokia is securing its position as a key vendor in the global telecommunications supply chain.
