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The operator has announced plans to expand the Djibouti Africa Regional Express 1 (DARE1) submarine cable system from Kenya to South Africa
This week, Djibouti’s incumbent telecoms operator Djibouti Telecom has announced plans to extend the reach of the DARE1 cable down Africa’s east coast.
The DARE1 cable system, which came into service in 2021, currently spans the Horn of Africa, connecting Djibouti to Somalia and Kenya. The system includes three-fibre-pairs, each of which is capable of delivering capacity of 120 channels at 100 Gbps.
Alongside Djibouti Telecom, the cable system is also partly owned by Somalia’s Hormuud Telecom, Somtel International, and Telkom Kenya.
The announced expansion will see this route extended 3,200–3,500km down the east coast of Africa, terminating in Mtunzini, South Africa. Landings are also planned for Tanzania, Mozambique, and Madagascar.
Planned route, including landing sites, for the DARE1 expansion
This initiative, Djibouti Telecom says, will increase route diversity and improve network resilience for regional operators.
Work on the expansion is set to begin next year, with the project expected to be ready for service in 2028.
Despite its small size, Djibouti is a major player in the international submarine cable ecosystem. Situated on the Bab-el-Mandeb (literally ‘the gate of tears’) strait in the Gulf of Aden, the country holds significant influence over both international maritime trade and data traffic; least 15 submarine cables lie beneath the surface of the Bab-el-Mandeb, making it a crucial gateway for data traffic travelling between the Mediterranean and Asia.
Over the past two years, this area has been heavily impacted by the hostile activities of Yemeni Houthis, with numerous subsea cable systems damaged, intentionally or otherwise. These cable cuts caused significant disruption to regional data traffic, highlighting the need for a greater diversity of transport routes.
How is the international submarine cable landscape evolving? Join the discussion at Submarine Networks EMEA, the world’s largest subsea cable event
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