Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN), Elettra, Medusa and Orange announced last week the coming into force of the construction contract for the Medusa Submarine Cable System to boost connectivity across the Mediterranean.

Medusa Submarine Cable System will establish crucial connections between Morocco, Portugal, Spain, France, Algeria, Tunisia, Italy, Greece, Cyprus and Egypt, according to a press statement issued by Medusa.

Medusa is a private, independent and neutral submarine infrastructure operator in the Mediterranean region, managed by AFR-IX Telecom, a private European capital company.

ASN and Elettra will execute the construction of Medusa system, which is built on 24-pair fibre optic Open Cable technology to meet increasing broadband requirements in the region, with 20Tb/s minimum capacity per fibre pair.

Elettra will commence survey operations, while equipment manufacturing and installation are planned to span over 2024 and 2025. Orange will provide landing infrastructures in France, Tunisia and Morocco, the statement noted.

The construction of Medusa is funded by AFR-IX Telecom, Orange and the European Union though CEF (Connecting Europe Facilities) grants. The 1050-km subsystem ‘Via Tunisia’, which is part of the Medusa Cable and links France and Tunisia, is co-funded by the European Union under the CEF, as previously announced by Orange.

“We have been working for more than 3 years to reach this point and we are tremendously grateful to all those who, from early stages, supported Medusa: collaborating companies and European institutions. Thanks to the support of North African Operators, financial institutions and leading companies such as ASN, Elettra Tlc, Orange and AFR-IX Telecom, Medusa will be in service the fourth quarter of 2025,” said Norman Albi, CEO of Medusa.

When complete, Medusa will span a distance of over 8,700 kilometres, making it the longest cable in the Mediterranean Sea and providing enhanced North-South and East-West connectivity.

(Writing by P Deol; Editing by Anoop Menon)

(anoop.menon@lseg.com)