Paris – July 3, 2023 – Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN), Elettra Tlc, Medusa and Orange are pleased to announce the coming into force of the construction contract for the Medusa Submarine Cable System. This milestone marks the start of an ambitious project that will boost connectivity across the Mediterranean.
Medusa will establish crucial connections between Morocco, Portugal, Spain, France, Algeria, Tunisia, Italy, Greece, Cyprus and Egypt. The subsystem named Via Tunisia, part of the Medusa Cable, linking France and Tunisia, is cofounded by the European Union under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) program, as already announced by Orange.
When complete, Medusa will span an impressive distance of over 8,700 kilometres, making it the longest cable in the Mediterranean Sea and providing enhanced North-South and East-West connectivity.
The construction has been awarded to industry leaders ASN and Elettra Tlc. The Medusa system is built on state of- the-art 24-pair fiber optic Open Cable technology to meet increasing broadband requirements in the region, with 20Tb/s minimum capacity per fiber pair.
Elettra Tlc will promptly engage 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.
By connecting North Africa and Southern Europe, as well as several of the Mediterranean islands to the mainland, including Sicily, Crete and Cyprus, the Medusa submarine cable system will create unprecedented opportunities for collaboration, innovation and economic development. It will also provide an effective bridge between the Mediterranean and Atlantic regions, facilitating increased communication and cooperation across all these areas.
Medusa is committed to reducing the digital divide, and this construction is an important step towards achieving this goal.
The construction of Medusa is funded by AFR-IX Telecom, Orange and the European Union though CEF (Connecting Europe Facilities) grants.
The EU Commission also granted the ATMED – DG project of AFR-IX telecom, that deploys a fibre pair between Lisbon, Zahara de los Atunes, Barcelona, Marseille and Mazara del Vallo.
This collaboration highlights the commitment of industry leaders and governmental organizations to contribute to a more connected and prosperous future for the Mediterranean region.
About Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN)
Alcatel Submarine Networks, part of Nokia, leads the industry in terms of transmission capacity and installed base with more than 750,000 km of optical submarine systems deployed worldwide, enough to go almost 19 times around the world. From traditional telecom applications to content and “over the top” service provider infrastructures, as well as to offshore oil and gas applications, ASN provides all elements of turnkey global undersea transmission
systems, tailored to individual customer’s needs. An extensive services portfolio completes its comprehensive offering for the submarine business, including project management, installation, and commissioning, along with marine and maintenance operations performed by ASN’s wholly owned fleet of cable ships.
ASN website: www.asn.com
Alcatel Submarine Networks media contact: communications@asn.com
About Orange
Orange is one of the world’s leading telecommunications operators with revenues of 43.5 billion euros in 2022 and 136,000 employees worldwide at 31 March 2023, including 74,000 employees in France.
The Group has a total customer base of 288 million customers worldwide at 31 March 2023, including 243 million mobile customers and 24 million fixed broadband customers. The Group is present in 26 countries. Orange is also a leading provider of global IT and telecommunication services to multinational companies under the brand Orange Business. In February 2023, the Group presented its strategic plan “Lead the Future”, built on a new business model and guided by responsibility and efficiency. “Lead the Future” capitalizes on network excellence to reinforce Orange’s leadership in service quality.
Orange is listed on Euronext Paris (symbol ORA) and on the New York Stock Exchange (symbol ORAN).
For more information on the internet and on your mobile: www.orange.com, www.orange-business.com and the Orange News app or to follow us on Twitter: @orangegrouppr.
Orange and any other Orange product or service names included in this material are trademarks of Orange or Orange Brand Services Limited.
For Orange press enquiries:
Richard Rousseau – richard2.rousseau@orange.com
About Elettra Tlc
Elettra Tlc SpA is an Italian company, based in Rome and belonging to the Orange Group. Elettra Tlc is specialized in marine works related to optical submarine cable systems: marine installation, cable maintenance, and oceanographic surveys are its core business using its fleet of cable ships and survey vessel, as well as the provision of “Turn Key” submarine cable system solutions. Since 1996 Elettra has successfully carried out more than 100,000 km of marine surveys and 80,000 km of marine installation for the main world players.
For further information, please visit http://www.elettratlc.it
About Medusa
Medusa is a private, independent and neutral submarine infrastructure operator in the Mediterranean region, managed by AFR-IX Telecom.
The Medusa Submarine Cable System is an undersea fibre optic system connecting the eastern and western Mediterranean to the Atlantic Ocean, creating a new corridor from Asia to the Atlantic, and enabling the development of the information society and its participants across the region. Digital connectivity will form the basis of the region’s economic development. By directly interconnecting Europe and Africa, Medusa will contribute to bridging the digital divide.
For further information, please visit http://www.medusascs.com
