Google invests in cable connecting Australia and Africa

Google is set to build a new subsea cable that connects Perth to several African countries, the first direct route between Australia and Africa.

The Umoja cable system comprises a terrestrial route starting in Kenya and “passing through Uganda, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa, including the Google Cloud region”.

“Access points” have been built on the terrestrial portion for other countries to join in future.

A subsea section will then run from South Africa, “crossing the Indian Ocean to Australia.”

“Umoja will enable African countries to more reliably connect with each other and the rest of the world,” Google said in a blog post.

“Establishing a new route distinct from existing connectivity routes is critical to maintaining a resilient network for a region that has historically experienced high-impact outages.”

Communications minister Michelle Rowland welcomed Google’s investment in the cable.

“Diversifying Australia’s connectivity and supporting digital inclusion across the globe are both incredibly important objectives, and Google’s Umoja cable will help to do just that,” she said.

Damage to subsea routes off East Africa and South Africa have caused connectivity problems in the region this year, notably leading to an Azure outage in the region.

Google has also recently announced investments in other routes connecting Australia, including the Humboldt cable between Sydney and Chile, and the South Pacific Connect project between Australia and the United States.