A major new submarine cable linking Europe to southern Africa is being mooted.

According to an Engineering News report, a memorandum of understanding has been signed for the Via Africa system. It will involve a consortium of global and Africa-based companies including Canalink, Guilab, International Mauritania Telecom, Orange Group, Orange Côte d’Ivoire, Sonatel and Silverlinks. The consortium is reportedly open to additional partners joining at a later stage

The cable is expected to run from the UK, France and Portugal, with landing points on the Atlantic coast such as the Canary Islands, Mauritania, Senegal, Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria, with extensions further south in the pipeline.

The consortium model allows partners seeking autonomy and sovereignty to co-invest in the infrastructure and take part in its governance.

‘This robust and proven model allows investors to participate directly in the decisions regarding the design, deployment and exploitation of the system and contribute to decisions that best meet their needs,’ the consortium said.

To start, the consortium will fund a cable route study while readying a procurement process to appoint a cable supplier.

19 May 2026
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