Intelligent Tech Channels Issue 52 | Page 41

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TeleGeography : US $ 10 billion worth of new cables expected to enter service between 2022 and 2024

T eleGeography , a global telecommunications market research and consulting firm , has published its brand new Submarine Cable Map and Africa Telecom Map for 2022 , both sponsored by Telecom Egypt .

These new designs include cables with a combined construction cost of US $ 12 billion that entered service between 2016 and 2021 . Every major subsea route saw new cables deployed during this timeframe .
Investment is expected to continue across all global routes . Following three straight years ( 2016 to 2018 ) where new subsea cable spending exceeded US $ 2.2 billion , annual investment started to fluctuate in 2019 . Looking forward , planned new cable investment could exceed US $ 10 billion from 2022 to 2024 .
TeleGeography projects that subsea cable spending will strengthen as hyper-scalers shift their position from generating demand to generating supply .
Our research has shown constant advancement year-on-year , as pressure for bandwidth continues to grow .
“ Our research has shown constant advancement year-on-year , as pressure for bandwidth continues to grow ,” said Alan Mauldin , Research Director , TeleGeography . “ Content providers ’ international bandwidth growth has accelerated as of late . Companies like Meta , Microsoft , and Netflix have millions of users who are driving up demand every day .”
TeleGeography ’ s regional Africa Telecom Map highlights 71 cable systems connected to Africa that are currently active or under construction . The map covers used bandwidth , Internet capacity , pricing trends , and content provider investment in both cable systems and cloud data centres . Broadband and mobile penetration rates for each country are also included in the main projection .
“ The value of regionalising our maps is that we can explore the trends in greater depth ,” said Mauldin . “ For example , we can see in our latest regional map of Africa that Europe remains the dominant location for traffic exchange out of the continent and 80 % of international bandwidth from African countries connects to facilities in Europe .”
Notable cables featured in this new design include the African submarine cable consortium project 2Africa , which will extend 45,000 kilometres and link 33 countries in Africa , Middle East , and Europe . This new cable could enter service as soon as 2023 . Also included is Google ’ s private cable Equiano , which will initially link Portugal , Nigeria , Namibia , South Africa , Togo , and St . Helena , but could expand to many other countries . •
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