Google has announced plans to build a new, high-capacity subsea cable system that connects Africa and Australia.

The move comes after the recent completion of the Equiano cable system, built by Google, which connects South Africa to Europe along Africa’s west coast.

The new cable system, which includes a terrestrial leg built by Liquid Intelligent Technologies, will be called Umoja, which is the Swahili word for “unity”, Google said in a statement on Thursday.

The announcement coincides with a visit by Kenyan President William Ruto to Washington.

“Anchored in Kenya, the Umoja cable route will pass through Uganda, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa, including the Google Cloud region, before crossing the Indian Ocean to Australia,” Google said.

Together with Equiano, the new combined system will be known as Africa Connect.

“Establishing a new route distinct from existing connectivity routes is critical to maintaining a resilient network for a region that has historically experienced high-impact outages,” Google said.

Digital backbone

Kenya’s Ruto said: “The new intercontinental fibre-optic route will significantly enhance our global and regional digital infrastructure. This initiative is crucial in ensuring the redundancy and resilience of our region’s connectivity to the rest of the world, especially in light of recent disruptions caused by cuts to subsea cables.

“By strengthening our digital backbone, we are not only improving reliability but also paving the way for increased digital inclusion, innovation and economic opportunities for our people and businesses,” Ruto said.