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Led Fibre Corridor Targets Red Sea Internet Chokepoint as Cable Risks Mount

BirrMetrics · 2 weeks ago · Read the Full Story on BirrMetrics
Led Fibre Corridor Targets Red Sea Internet Chokepoint as Cable Risks Mount
AI SUMMARY

Three African telecom operators are advancing the Horizon Cross-Border Terrestrial Fibre Initiative to provide an alternative data route as recurring submarine cable failures disrupt internet traffic in the Red Sea corridor.

  • Ethio telecom, Djibouti Telecom and Sudan’s Sudatel Group are advancing the Horizon Cross-Border Terrestrial Fibre Initiative.
  • The initiative has entered its pre-commercialisation phase following a workshop in Addis Ababa with global technology and telecom providers.
  • The proposed terrestrial corridor connects submarine-cable landing stations in Djibouti and Port Sudan by crossing Ethiopia.
  • The route is designed to allow data between Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Europe to bypass damaged or congested Red Sea subsea cables.
  • The project positions Ethiopia as a transit market for cross-continental data traffic to generate wholesale revenue and support digital ambitions.
  • Multiple Red Sea submarine cables have been damaged since 2024, causing internet disruptions across Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
  • Around 15 submarine cables pass through the narrow Bab el-Mandeb Strait, creating systemic risk due to infrastructure concentration.
  • The Horizon network is planned to carry multiple terabits of data with low-latency connections between Djibouti and Port Sudan.
  • Companies including Ciena, Nokia, Google, Microsoft, Meta and China Mobile International participated in the Addis Ababa workshop.
  • The consortium has not yet announced binding customer agreements, investment commitments, project costs, financing structures or launch dates.
  • The three operators signed a tripartite agreement for the Horizon initiative in February 2026.
  • Horizon intends to offer wholesale data transport, colocation and hosting services to telecom carriers, cloud providers and content networks.
  • Horizon is developed as an additional redundancy route rather than a replacement for existing Red Sea submarine cables.
Read the Full Story on BirrMetrics
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