• DRC plans new submarine, regional links to boost connectivity
• Country relies on two cables amid outages, limited redundancy
• Expansion aims to cut costs, support growing digital demand

The Democratic Republic of Congo is seeking to strengthen its international connectivity infrastructure in response to rising demand for data, driven by the expansion of digital services and the broader digital economy.

The plan was outlined this week by Augustin Kibassa Maliba, minister of digital economy, during a panel on “Strategic Financing of Research and Innovation.” The event was held on Tuesday, April 28, in Kinshasa, as part of the High-Level Political Segment Forum on education sector financing.

The government is considering two approaches. The first involves developing new links to submarine cables to increase capacity and lower bandwidth costs. The second focuses on strengthening terrestrial interconnections with better-connected neighboring countries, seen as a quicker way to secure international connectivity.

A Limited and Fragile Connectivity Base

The DRC currently relies mainly on two international submarine cables for access to the global internet. It was first linked to the West Africa Cable System (WACS) in 2013, which long served as its main international gateway. However, recurring outages—more frequent in recent years—have disrupted internet access, with one of the latest incidents affecting service quality for several weeks in early 2026.

A second cable, 2Africa—one of the largest systems globally—landed in the DRC in September 2023. It was commissioned in December 2025 by operator Airtel RDC, with an initial capacity of 200 gigabits per second. The infrastructure is expected to significantly improve service quality and strengthen network redundancy.

Part of a Broader Continental Push

The minister did not specify which cables or neighboring countries are being targeted. His announcement comes amid a wave of submarine cable projects across Africa. Among them, the Medusa system is attracting growing interest. The project targets a total capacity of 480 terabits per second, built on 24 fiber pairs.

Originally designed to connect Mediterranean countries, Medusa has since been extended to Africa, with the aim of improving digital access for hundreds of millions of people across 22 countries. Gabon, Cameroon, Guinea and Equatorial Guinea are among the countries involved, with commissioning expected between 2028 and 2030. Separately, the DRC recently signed a $150 million agreement with a Mauritian company, including the installation of a new international submarine cable.

Several neighboring countries already have significant infrastructure in place. Angola has five submarine cables, the Republic of Congo operates two, and Tanzania has five. At the regional level, hubs such as Nigeria (eight cables), Cameroon (five) and Kenya (seven, with two under deployment) provide indirect connection routes. However, this apparent diversity should be viewed with caution, as several countries share the same infrastructure, limiting true redundancy.

A Lever for Digital Inclusion and Lower Costs

Expanding submarine cable capacity increases available bandwidth and improves network resilience, helping meet growing demand for high-speed connectivity for both current and future uses. Internet penetration in the DRC was estimated at 19.7% in 2024, according to the International Telecommunication Union.

Greater capacity is also associated with lower costs. In a report published in June 2025, the Foundation for Studies and Research on International Development (FERDI) said that doubling international capacity can lead to an immediate drop of about 32% in fixed broadband prices and up to 50% for mobile.

Isaac K. Kassouwi