MTN Congo has activated the 2Africa submarine cable in the Republic of Congo, expanding international internet capacity and reducing reliance on a single route after weeks of service disruptions linked to failures on the West Africa Cable System.
The telecom operator said on Friday that the new cable was connected at Pointe-Noire, giving the country a second international gateway more than a decade after it first linked to global networks through the West Africa Cable System, known as WACS.
MTN Congo said the activation establishes a direct connection to London and provides two secure international routes via South Africa and Nigeria, significantly improving network resilience. The infrastructure is expected to reduce latency to Europe and major digital platforms while boosting performance for streaming, cloud services, videoconferencing and digital financial services.
The rollout follows weeks of internet disruptions in Congo and other parts of Central Africa caused by technical failures on international submarine systems. Until now, Congo depended primarily on WACS, which has served as the country’s sole international link since 2012.
The 2Africa cable offers a nominal capacity of 180 terabits per second, far exceeding WACS’s 14.5 Tbps. MTN landed the cable in Congo in 2023, but its activation marks the first time the country has had access to a second high-capacity international route.
Authorities have welcomed the development as part of efforts to strengthen digital infrastructure amid accelerating demand for internet services. Official estimates put the number of daily internet users at more than 3.5 million, out of a population of nearly six million, giving the country a penetration rate of about 58 percent.
The government has acknowledged the vulnerability created by dependence on a single submarine cable. In late January, the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Digital Economy said it would commission a new international link within weeks and step up cooperation with neighbouring countries to activate backup routes. Officials have also mentioned plans for a future “Dow Africa” cable project.
Submarine cables are widely seen as a catalyst for cheaper and more reliable internet across Africa. A June 2025 report by the Fondation pour les études et recherches sur le développement international found that doubling international capacity from submarine cables typically leads to an immediate 32 percent reduction in fixed broadband prices and up to a 50 percent drop in mobile broadband prices, depending on market structure and regulation.
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The World Bank has also highlighted the link between capacity and affordability, estimating in a 2024 study that each doubling of submarine cable capacity in Africa generally reduces fixed broadband prices by about seven percent and mobile broadband prices by an average of 13 percent.
Despite these potential gains, access remains costly for many users. Data from the International Telecommunication Union show that in 2025 the cost of a 5-gigabyte mobile broadband package in Congo represented 5.32 percent of gross national income per capita, above the ITU’s affordability benchmark of two percent. Fixed broadband costs were lower than the African average but still far higher than global norms.
Experts caution that the benefits of new submarine capacity depend on domestic infrastructure. While 2Africa increases capacity at the coast, operators must carry that traffic inland to ensure nationwide access. Congo launched construction of a second national fibre backbone in 2023 to connect Pointe-Noire and Brazzaville, but officials have yet to provide an update on its progress.
Analysts also point to risks such as vandalism of fibre networks and the need for strong regulation. FERDI has stressed that only countries with independent regulators capable of enforcing competition and infrastructure sharing fully capture the price and quality gains associated with new submarine cables.
Background to the internet connectivity in Congo
The Republic of Congo’s international connectivity has long been constrained by its reliance on a single submarine cable. Since 2012, the country has depended mainly on the West Africa Cable System (WACS) for international bandwidth, leaving national internet services highly exposed to outages and maintenance failures along the West African coast. When disruptions occur, traffic rerouting options are limited, leading to widespread service degradation for consumers, businesses and public institutions.
The landing of the 2Africa cable represents a significant shift in this structure. 2Africa is one of the world’s largest submarine cable projects, designed to encircle the African continent and connect it directly to Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Its scale with a design capacity of 180 terabits per second reflects surging demand for data driven by mobile broadband, cloud computing, digital payments and streaming services across Africa.
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In Congo, demand for connectivity has risen sharply over the past decade. Mobile broadband is the primary mode of internet access, while fixed broadband penetration remains limited and concentrated in urban areas such as Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire. The government has identified digital infrastructure as a priority for economic diversification, public service delivery and private-sector development, particularly as the country seeks to reduce dependence on hydrocarbons.
Regional integration also shapes Congo’s connectivity strategy. The country is part of the Central Africa Backbone initiative, which aims to interconnect national fibre networks across Central Africa to lower costs and improve cross-border resilience. However, progress has been uneven, and gaps in domestic fibre coverage have limited the full benefits of international capacity.
Past experience in other African markets shows that submarine cables alone do not guarantee cheaper internet. Studies by the World Bank and the International Telecommunication Union show that price reductions depend heavily on competition among operators, effective regulation, and the availability of national backbones to distribute capacity inland.
For Congo, the activation of 2Africa is therefore both an opportunity and a test. While it significantly improves redundancy and potential capacity at the coast, the extent to which consumers benefit will depend on the speed of backbone rollout, protection of fibre infrastructure from vandalism, and regulatory oversight to ensure operators pass cost savings on to users.
