The Medusa Submarine Cable System, owned by AFR-IX Telecom, today this morning achieved its first mooring at the Marsella cable station, marking the beginning of the project’s Mediterranean deployment. The first segment will connect Marsella–Bizerta (Tunisia) and Marsella–Nador (Morocco), with scheduled landings between late October and December. The initial phase of the system is expected to be ready for service (RFS) by early 2026, with expansion to other landing points continuing throughout 2026.
“Bringing Medusa to Marseille, one of Europe’s main digital hubs, lays the foundation for a project that will transform communications between Europe and Africa,” said Norman Albi, CEO of AFR-IX Telecom and Medusa.
What Medusa Brings
Designed as a neutral and independent system, Medusa will connect 12 countries in Southern Europe and North Africa — Portugal, Morocco, Spain, France, Algeria, Tunisia, Italy, Malta, Libya, Greece, Cyprus, and Egypt — with a total of 19 landings through phased deployment. Besides interconnecting both sides of the Mediterranean, it will act as a transit corridor between the Atlantic (with a landing in Portugal) and the Red Sea (via Aqaba, Jordan), diversifying routes towards Asia and East Africa.
Technical overview (full phase)
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Expected length | > 8,700 km |
| Landings | 19 |
| Connected countries | 12 |
| Fiber pairs per segment | up to 24 |
| Capacity per pair | 20 Tbit/s |
| Model | Neutral / open-access |
| RFS (1st phase) | Early 2026 |
Expected impact: reduced trans-Mediterranean latency, route redundancy against geopolitical or physical failures, and capacity to support the growth of AI, cloud, CDN, and 5G/6G in both continents.
Why Marseille?
Marseille is one of Europe’s key cable super-hubs and data centers, with direct interconnections to multiple systems towards Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. Landing here shortens time-to-market, facilitates interconnection with European backbone networks, and adds diversity compared to traditional routes.
Funding and the European Framework
The Medusa project involves a total investment of approximately €342 million. Although a private enterprise, its strategic importance has attracted public funding:
- €38.3 million from the European Union via Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), under projects ATMED–DG and ATMED Nador–DG, to reinforce Europe–North Africa connectivity.
- €40 million from the European Investment Bank (EIB) allocated to GÉANT, an initiative that ensures connectivity of national research and education networks in the EU’s Southern Neighborhood.
Implications for Networks, Cloud, and AI
- Lower latency and additional paths: east-west and north-south routes for distributed training/inference, data replication, and latency-sensitive services.
- Elastic capacity: up to 24 fiber pairs × 20 Tbit/s per segment, adjustable by demand and stakeholders (operators, hyperscalers, NRENs).
- True open-access: neutral model allowing capacity or pair purchases without reliance on a single incumbent operator, promoting competition and resilience.
What’s Next
- Q4-2025: landings in Bizerta and Nador.
- Early 2026: RFS of the first phase.
- Throughout 2026: progressive deployment of the remaining landings across the 12 countries.
With the landing in Marseille, AFR-IX Telecom begins the realization of a new Mediterranean-Atlantic-Red Sea corridor that, due to its capacity and neutrality, aims to become a key piece in the interconnection map between Europe and Africa.
via: medusascs