Google Announces First Direct Fibre Optic Link Between Africa and Australia

Google has announced a major tech project called Umoja, which will be the first fibre optic cable to directly link Africa and Australia. 

This cable starts in Kenya and travels through several African countries, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, before ending in South Africa. From there, it will pass through the Google Cloud region and head to Australia via the Indian Ocean.

The land-based section of Umoja was completed with the help of Liquid Technologies and is designed to benefit other countries along its route. Umoja is also part of a broader initiative called Africa Connect, which includes Google’s Equiano cable, launched in 2019 to connect Africa and Europe.

Google’s goal with this new route is to create a more resilient network in a region prone to high-impact outages. In March 2024, several African countries faced internet outages due to undersea cable damage. By May, issues with two other submarine cables, Eassy and Seacom, disrupted internet services in East African countries like Kenya and Tanzania.

Kenya’s President, William Ruto, praised Google’s investment as a significant milestone for Kenya, Africa, and Australia. He emphasised that this project will enhance both global and regional digital infrastructure, providing crucial redundancy and resilience against connectivity disruptions.

Google also plans to sign a Statement of Collaboration with Kenya’s Ministry of Information Communications and The Digital Economy. This agreement will focus on areas like cybersecurity, digital skills training, and AI development. 

Specifically, Kenya’s Department of Immigration and Citizen Services is considering Google Cloud’s CyberShield solution and Mandiant expertise to protect its eCitizen platform.

Meanwhile, Microsoft has partnered with G42 and an AI firm in the UAE to invest $1 billion in Kenya. Their initiative includes building a geothermal data centre, developing AI models in Swahili and English, providing cybersecurity support, and helping Kenya enhance its international and domestic fibre cable infrastructure.