Google announced this Thursday (23) that it will build the first submarine fiber optic cable connecting Africa and Australia. The infrastructure will cover a distance of more than 12,000 km, its underwater part will be installed in the southern part of the Indian Ocean. The cable was named Umoja by Google.
Over its more than 12,000 km length, Umoja will leave Kenya, travel through the interior countries of the continent (Uganda, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia and Zimbabwe) until reaching South Africa, and head towards the east coast of Australia. “Umoja” means unity in the Swahili language, a language spoken by the inhabitants of some of the countries through which the cable will pass.
Africa Connect project aims to improve connections in Africa
Google’s new submarine cable is one of the tools of the Africa Connect project, which aims to improve the quality of the Internet in more countries on the continent. So far, the initiative has been promising Cape Equianowhich connects Africa to Europe, running from Portugal to Cape Town, South Africa – with several branches along the way.
But statement Regarding the construction of Umoja, Google highlighted that the construction of a new route is crucial to keeping the network on the continent more stable and resilient. As Big Tech points out, the region has a history of suffering from internet cuts, which have a major impact on services.
In 2021, Google promised to invest US$1 billion (R$5.1 billion) to help Africa’s digital transformation. According to Big Tech, more than US$900 million (R$4.6 billion) has already been invested. The company hopes to fulfill this promise in 2026.
Umoja Server is on Umoja Road. Google Cloud The server opened at the beginning of the year in South Africa helps provide cloud services, allowing for faster and more stable connections.
With information: TechCrunch
