2Africa Cable Boosts Egypt Digital Exports Amid Rising Internet Cost Complaints

By Ahmed Reda, Ahram Online
February 9, 2026

2Africa, the world’s longest subsea fibre-optic cable system, is reshaping Africa’s digital landscape while accelerating Egypt’s shift from expanding basic internet access to monetizing connectivity through exports, data centres, and higher-value digital services, even as consumer complaints over internet packages and prices, including fixed-line broadband, continue to rise.

The 2Africa network, developed by a global consortium that includes Meta, Vodafone, Orange, China Mobile, and MTN, extends about 45,000 kilometres, connects more than 33 countries across Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and South Asia, and includes over 45 landing stations, forming a high-capacity ring around the continent.

Industry disclosures indicate the system is designed to deliver up to 180 terabits per second (Tbps) on its main routes.

Supporting a fast-growing digital economy

Multilateral institutions expect Africa’s digital economy to reach $700–$800 billion by 2030 if infrastructure and regulatory reforms keep pace. However, bandwidth shortages and high international transit costs, often two to three times global averages, have limited scalability.

2Africa’s scale is expected to help lower wholesale bandwidth prices over time, improving the economics of cloud services, data centres, and platform-based businesses across the continent.

From closing the gap to raising the ceiling

Africa still accounts for roughly 18 percent of the world’s population but carries less than five percent of global internet traffic, reflecting long-standing constraints linked to international bandwidth costs, limited redundancy, and underinvestment in backbone infrastructure.

Egypt’s latest ICT indicators show continued expansion in both fixed and mobile connectivity, as households and businesses increasingly rely on streaming, remote work, online education, and cloud-based applications.

Fixed broadband subscriptions rose to 12.60 million in November 2025, up from 12.50 million in October and 11.51 million in 2024, according to the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and NTRA figures. The ministry’s bulletin reported annual growth of 8.98 percent and monthly growth of 0.74 percent.

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