• Guinea plans second subsea cable via Medusa to boost resilience
• MoU expected May 6; system capacity designed at 480 Tb/s
• Move aims to cut costs, improve connectivity after ACE outages

Guinea is considering connecting to the Medusa submarine cable system to establish a second international internet link, in a move aimed at strengthening the resilience and capacity of its national network.

The project was discussed at a cabinet meeting on Monday, April 27, the Ministry of Communication, Digital Economy and Innovation said. A memorandum of understanding with the Medusa consortium is expected to be signed on May 6.

The Medusa system has a total design capacity of 480 Tb/s, based on 24 fiber pairs at roughly 20 Tb/s each. Initially designed to connect Mediterranean countries, the project was later extended to Africa, where it is expected to expand digital access for hundreds of millions of people across 22 countries.

Cable deployment began in October 2025, with Orange S.A. completing the first landing in Marseille, France. The infrastructure reached Tunisia in November 2025 and Morocco in December. The remaining segments are scheduled for deployment in 2026.

The cable is expected to enter service from 2026, although no precise timeline has been announced for the African extension. Some countries have outlined their own projections: Gabon is targeting a launch around 2028, while Equatorial Guinea expects commissioning between 2029 and 2030.

The initiative comes as Guinea seeks a second submarine cable after years of relying on a single connection. Since 2014, the country has been linked to the Africa Coast to Europe (ACE) cable, which carries most of its high-speed traffic. Repeated outages have regularly disrupted internet access.

Guinea is also involved in the Amílcar Cabral submarine cable project, a regional initiative aimed at improving connectivity in West Africa. The project is designed to link several countries in the subregion to new international routes while providing an alternative to the ACE system.

The government is also participating in the World Bank-supported West Africa Regional Digital Integration Program (WARDIP), which aims to accelerate regional digital integration. In addition to infrastructure, the program supports regulatory reform, improved connectivity and expanded access to digital services.

Submarine cables can significantly increase bandwidth to meet rising demand for high-speed connectivity while strengthening network resilience through diversified international routes.

Higher capacity is also associated with lower internet costs. In a report published in June 2025, Fondation pour les études et recherches sur le développement international (FERDI) said doubling international capacity could lead to an immediate drop of around 32% in fixed broadband prices and up to 50% for mobile broadband.

The World Bank reached similar conclusions. In a study published in July 2024, it estimated that each doubling of submarine cable capacity in Africa reduces prices by an average of 7% for fixed broadband and 13% for mobile broadband.

According to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the cost of 5 GB of mobile data in Guinea in 2025 represents about 5.16% of gross national income (GNI) per capita, compared with 4.46% for fixed internet. Both figures remain well above the ITU’s recommended affordability threshold of 2%.

Across Africa, the cost of 5 GB of mobile data averages 5.32% of GNI per capita, compared with 1.38% globally. For fixed internet, the ratios stand at 15.1% in Africa and 2.53% worldwide. New submarine cables have also been linked to increased uptake of digital services. Guinea’s internet penetration rate stood at 33.3% in 2024, according to the ITU.

However, a cable landing alone does not guarantee these benefits. A robust national backbone remains essential to distribute capacity across the country, including in rural areas.

Isaac K. Kassouwi