Angola Cables Upgrades MONET and SACS With Ciena

Manny Pham, Developing Telecoms
September 29, 2026

Angola Cables is upgrading its MONET and South Atlantic Cable System (SACS) submarine networks using Ciena technology, with support for 800Gbps services on the route connecting the US, Brazil and Angola. The operator is responding to bandwidth requirements from hyperscalers, cloud providers and AI applications. Its programme focuses on increasing the capability of existing fibre infrastructure while giving the company more flexibility in how it assigns capacity across its subsea network.

The two cable systems serve different sections of that international connection. MONET runs 10,556km between the US and Brazil, while SACS spans 6,165km between Brazil and Angola. In combination, they provide a direct US-Angola route with a round-trip delay of around 130 milliseconds. Angola Cables' operation of both systems gives it access from Angola to the US through Brazil without depending on a connection through Europe.

The planned deployment includes Ciena's Waveserver platform equipped with WaveLogic 6 Extreme coherent optics, plus the 6500 Reconfigurable Line System and Navigator control software. This combination will enable 800Gbps client interfaces on MONET. Available connectivity options will extend from 100Gbps services to capacity across a full fibre pair, giving the operator a range of service sizes to offer rather than a single bandwidth option for every customer.

Angola Cables says the upgrade will support more diverse and resilient routing for wholesale, content, enterprise and cloud customers while improving utilisation of its existing fibre assets. The industry significance lies in the use of higher-capacity optical technology to carry more traffic over infrastructure already in place, rather than relying solely on new submarine cable deployments. The programme also reinforces the company's existing role in linking markets in Africa and the Americas.

The work builds on earlier deployments of Ciena equipment across Angola Cables' submarine network. The company describes the latest upgrade as a means of increasing service scalability and flexibility across MONET and SACS as cloud and AI workloads drive demand for international bandwidth. Deployment is the stated next step; the announcement does not give a completion date or commercial launch schedule for the upgraded services, so those milestones remain unspecified.

View source