Google has announced its latest subsea cable called Equiano that will connect Europe to Africa. The private subsea cable is fully funded by Google and will run from Portugal and along the West Coast of Africa and then end in South Africa.

Equiano marks Google's 14th investment into subsea cables worldwide.

"Equiano will be the first subsea cable to incorporate optical switching at the fiber-pair level, rather than the traditional approach of wavelength-level switching. This greatly simplifies the allocation of cable capacity, giving us the flexibility to add and reallocate it in different locations as needed. And because Equiano is fully funded by Google, we’re able to expedite our construction timeline and optimize the number of negotiating parties. A contract to build the cable with Alcatel Submarine Networks was signed in Q4 2018, and the first phase of the project, connecting South Africa with Portugal, is expected to be completed in 2021."

Equiano’s planned route and branching units, from which additional potential landings can be built. Source: Google

Google has also said that Equiona will have 20 times the capacity of the most recent cable laid long the same route. Out of the 14 subsea cables Google has invested in, Equiona is only the third that is private. The other two are Dunant and Curie.

Between 2016 and 2018, Google reports that it invested $47 billion in capital expenditure.

"Equiano will further enhance the world’s highest capacity and best connected international network. We’re excited to bring Equiano online, and look forward to working with licensed partners to bring Equiano’s capacity to even more countries across the African continent."