(Ecofin Agency) - The demand for broadband connectivity is set to keep growing in Africa over the next few years. To meet this demand, operators are strengthening their infrastructure. 

The Moroccan telecommunications group Itissalat Al Maghrib (Maroc Telecom) has invested 150 million euros in the construction of a new fiber optic submarine cable. Called "West Africa", the infrastructure was presented at Gitex Africa 2023, held in Marrakech from Wednesday, May 31 to Friday, June 2. It links the company's subsidiaries and operators in the West African region to the international optical loop in Europe.

The new cable is 9,414 km long and comprises two segments. The South segment interconnects Morocco with Côte d'Ivoire, Togo, Benin, Gabon, and Mauritania via 7 landing points over a distance of 8,600 km. Commissioned in July 2021, it provides a capacity of 20 Tb/s, expandable to 40 Tb/s. The North segment was commissioned in April 2022, linking Casablanca to Lisbon (Portugal) over a distance of 814 km, with a capacity of 60 Tb/s.

This investment should enable Maroc Telecom to strengthen the capacities of its subsidiaries, which have become a major factor in the Group's growth in a highly competitive domestic market. In the first quarter of 2023, the subsidiaries generated MAD4.6 billion ($455 million) in sales, up 7.3%, while its domestic operations generated MAD4.7 billion (up 0.6%). This performance by subsidiaries in sub-Saharan Africa was driven in particular by a 27% growth in the mobile data segment.  

According to Maroc Telecom, the West Africa cable "aims to support digital transformation in Africa by offering high-speed broadband Internet access, and to bring populations closer together by promoting digital integration."

Isaac K. Kassouwi