Underwater Google internet cable gives Togo high-speed link to Europe

Aneho beach on Togo's 50km coastline. Godong/Universal Images Group vi - Godong

A subsea cable owned by Google that promises to double internet speeds for millions in Africa arrived in Togo on Friday. It's the latest step in a multi-year project to provide cheaper access to users across the continent.

The Equiano cable, the first of its kind to reach Africa, has wound its way from Portugal and will double internet speed for Togo's 8 million residents, Google said in a statement.

Togo President Faure Gnassingbe inaugurated the cable at the port of the capital Lomé on Friday.

Part of Google’s $1 billion programme to build digital capacity on the continent, the new line will also make land in Nigeria, Namibia and South Africa, with possible branches offering connections to nearby countries.

It is expected to start operating by the end of the year.

J’ai procédé ce jour à l’inauguration du câble sous-marin #Equiano de @googleafrica sis au port autonome de Lomé.

Cette infrastructure du géant de l’internet @Google a pour but de connecter l’Europe à l’Afrique et va transformer durablement le paysage numérique de notre pays. pic.twitter.com/PRolspxFud

— Faure E. Gnassingbe (@FEGnassingbe) March 18, 2022

In a joint release, the Togolese government and Google said the “Equiano” cable, named after Nigerian-born writer and abolitionist Olaudah Equiano, would create improved high-speed and affordable internet access to millions of people in the country and West Africa.

Sub-Saharan Africa is the world's least-connected region, with around a quarter of the population still lacking mobile broadband coverage compared to 7 percent globally, according to a 2020 report by GSMA Intelligence.

Most countries in West Africa are at the bottom of a World Bank global ranking on internet penetration.

Google's subsea cable will link parts of West Africa to Europe via Portugal © Google

A boost to GDP

Togo became the first country in West Africa to launch a 5G network in 2020. In recent years, internet penetration in Togo has almost tripled, from about 7 percent in 2017 to about 20 percent in 2020, according to World Bank data.

Togo has some of the highest mobile data costs on the continent, with an average of $4.69 per gigabyte.

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The cable is expected to reduce internet prices by 14 percent by 2025, according to an Africa Practice and Genesis Analytics assessment commissioned by Google.

Google said the cable will indirectly create 37,000 jobs in Togo by 2025 and boost GDP by $193 million.

(with Wires)