By Sonny Aragba-Akpore
With 99% of telecommunications activities powered by Submarine undersea cables,the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has declared submarine cables as the lifeline of telecommunications.
Rising from a two-day submarine cable summit in Abuja recently,the ITU declared that cable resilience is the only way to sustain its viability for the good of humanity.
Globally,there are more than 500 undersea submarine cables running telecommunications services for network operators and sustain 99% of all data transmission.
Of these 500 undersea submarine cables,eight land and present in Nigeria.
These cables land in 1,400 stations across the globe.
Among the 54 African countries recognized by United Nations, there are 38 countries that have seashore and 16 that are land locked. Out of these 38 countries that have seashore, 37 countries have at least one submarine cable landing. The lone exception is Eritrea, considering Western Sahara is considered disputed territory.
By the end of 2019, among the 37 countries that have at least one subsea cable landing, 11 countries have only 1 subsea cable, 10 countries have 2 subsea cables, 6 have 3 subsea cables, and 10 have more than 3.
Nigeria has one of the largest numbers of cable landing and stations in Africa.
These undersea submarine cables play a crucial role in providing internet connectivity and enabling global communication from and to Nigeria.
These submarine cables in Nigeria include:
MainOne cable*: with 10 terabits capacity;ntel’s SAT-3*: has 800 gigabits capacity;Glo-1*: has 2.5 terabits capacity while African Coast to Europe Cable System*: has 5.5 terabits capacity.
There are also West African Cable System (WACS)*: with 14.5 terabits capacity, Nigeria-Cameroon Submarine Cable System (NCSCS)*: 12.8 terabits capacity
Equiano*: 100 terabits capacity and 2Africa*: 180 terabits capacity.
The two-day event was hosted by Nigeria’s Ministry of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, in partnership with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the International Cable Protection Committee (ICPC).
The conference declared among others:
Strengthening cable protection through risk mitigation;
Promoting diverse routes and landings to enhance resilience and continuity;
Facilitating timely deployment and repair.
According to ITU ,governments, industry executives and international organizations have expressed support for strengthening the world’s vital undersea network of telecommunications cables at the International Submarine Cable Resilience Summit in Abuja, Nigeria.
The concluding Summit Declaration, developed by the International Advisory Body on Submarine Cable Resilience, includes a commitment to international efforts to reinforce submarine telecommunications cable resilience, centred on actions ranging from increased cooperation to technical advancements.
More than 99 per cent of international data traffic is carried by a network of about 500 submarine telecommunications cables spanning over 1.7 million kilometres worldwide. With an average of 150 to 200 faults reported globally each year, disruptions to communications affect economies, access to information and public services, as well as the daily lives of billions of people.
“Submarine telecommunications cables are a fundamental backbone of our interconnected world. Entire economies feel the impact of disruptions to service,” said ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin. “This summit is galvanizing global efforts to ensure the resilience of this vital telecommunications infrastructure.”
The declaration also includes a recognition that advancing sustainable approaches, fostering technological innovation, and facilitating capacity building are essential for addressing global challenges and driving inclusive development, with a strong emphasis on preparing for both present and future connectivity needs.
“With submarine cables forming the lifelines of the digital age, strengthening their resilience is a shared priority,” according to Bosun Tijani, Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Co-Chair of the Advisory Body.
“This summit and its declaration underscore our commitment to safeguarding the infrastructure that our digital economy is built upon. As a key landing point for submarine cables in Africa, Nigeria is well-placed to contribute to and help shape global efforts to enhance resilience.”
“This is a key moment for submarine cable resilience as this declaration clears the way for greater international cooperation,” said Prof. Sandra Maximiano, Chair of ANACOM and Co-Chair of the Advisory Body. “Given the importance of submarine cables in connecting Portugal, particularly our Autonomous Regions of Madeira and the Azores, and our strategic position for landing transcontinental cables, this declaration represents a major development for us. I believe it is an important achievement for the entire submarine cable ecosystem.”
The summit featured the first in-person meeting of the International Advisory Body on Submarine Cable Resilience formed by ITU in partnership with the ICPC in late 2024. The Advisory Body aims to help strengthen the operational resilience of submarine cables, supporting reliable connectivity for all.
“This summit brought together the global submarine cable industry and governments to focus on the continued protection and resilience of this critical infrastructure,” said ICPC Chairman Graham Evans. “This cooperation provides a key opportunity to work together on the practical steps to promote best practices to enhance the resilience of submarine cables across the world.”
Advisory Body decisions at the summit include the formation of working groups focused on risk identification, monitoring and mitigation, as well as connectivity and geographic diversity of landing points and routes, and timely deployment and repair of cables.
In terms of high concentration of undersea cables Egypt is a major hub for undersea cables, with many cables passing through the country.Egypt has a long history of using subsea cables to connect Africa, Europe, and Asia. Egypt’s central location and extensive coastlines on the Red Sea and Mediterranean Sea give it an advantage for connecting these continents. Telecom Egypt is one of the largest subsea cable operators in the world.
The northern Atlantic Ocean between the U.S. and Europe has a high density of undersea cables.
The International Cable Protection Committee (ICPC) is an organization that owns 98% of the world’s undersea communication cables.
As of 2018, nearly every African country had at least one submarine cable connecting it to the rest of the world.There are many subsea cable projects in Africa, including Equiano, 2Africa, DARE1, PEACE, and Umoja.
Submarine cable networks connecting African countries are a way to measure economic progress in those countries.
● Aragba-Akpore is a telecom analyst based in Abuja, and sent this via WhatsApp.
