center3 announced the landing of the 2Africa subsea cable in Jeddah and Yanbu, Saudi Arabia. center3 is a newly formed subsidiary of stc, being the result of stc Group’s vision that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will be the heart of all international data connectivity crossing and connecting three continents (Europe, Asia and Africa) and a data center hub for the MENA region.
The 2Africa cable connects 46 cable landing stations in 33 countries in Africa, Asia and Europe, spanning approximately 45,000km, being the longest subsea cable ever built in the world, connecting Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Iraq, Oman, the UAE, Pakistan and India through its 2Africa Pearls extension.
The 2Africa consortium comprises center3 (subsidiary of stc), China Mobile International, Meta, MTN Global Connect, Orange, Telecom Egypt, Vodafone and WIOCC.
center3 planned to land the 2Africa subsea cable in cable landing stations in Saudi Arabia: Jeddah, Yanbu, Duba and Al Khobar.
“2Africa’s first landing in Saudi Arabia is a major milestone for center3, representing a significant step forward in our objective to make Saudi Arabia the regional hub connecting the three continents: Asia, Africa, and Europe," said Fahad A. Alhajeri, CEO of center3, "center3 will continue to invest in connectivity infrastructure providing world-class connectivity to our customers and contributing towards achieving the Kingdom’s 2030 Vision.”
center3 is a newly formed subsidiary of stc group.
As part of its contribution to achieving the vision of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 2030, stc announced in 2020 its goal to establish a digital center for the region as an initiative called “MENAHub” which was launched as center3. The company starts business with impressive existing assets and customer base.
center3 is the result of stc Group’s vision that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will be the heart of all international data connectivity crossing and connecting three continents (Europe, Asia and Africa) and a data center hub for the MENA region. The geographical position of KSA makes it the ideal location for hosting content and cloud applications, serving not only the region but also all those countries that surround it. Hyperscalers, Gaming and Content providers, Cloud providers and Global International Carriers are all the natural beneficiaries of the integrated platform center3 is creating, which will enable them to better serve their regional customers with unparalleled flexibility and speeds.