Google has announced Umoja, a fiber optic cable project that will directly connect Africa to Australia.
Starting in Kenya, Umoja will travel through several African countries, like the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, before ending in South Africa. From there, it will pass through the Google Cloud region and head to Australia via the Indian Ocean.
The terrestrial path of Umoja was built in partnership with Liquid Technologies, ensuring that other countries can benefit from this new network.
Google has also added Umoja to its Africa Connect initiative, which includes Equiano, a private subsea cable launched in 2019 to connect Africa and Europe. The idea is to create a more resilient network for a region that has often experienced major Internet outages
Kenya’s President, William Ruto, highlighted how this investment by Google will greatly enhance global and regional digital infrastructure. Ruto emphasized that this project is vital for maintaining reliable connectivity, especially after recent disruptions caused by undersea cable damages.
In March 2024, several African countries faced Internet outages due to damage to undersea cables.
