Google has revealed plans to build four “connectivity hubs” across the African continent that will serve as landing stations for its undersea cable infrastructure.
Speaking to Bloomberg TV (paywall) on Thursday, Google Africa CEO Alex Okosi said the connectivity hubs will make it easier for the internet giant to partner with terrestrial telecommunications providers and help decrease the cost of connectivity for consumers.
“The [hubs will allow] us to land the cables on the continent in a much more effective way. As you know, being able to build these subsea cables still requires that you land them in different markets, and that’s what we’ve been working hard to do,” said Okosi.
“When you have these connectivity hubs, they then really maximise your opportunity to partner with the telecoms companies on the ground and again reduce the cost for the average user … to access the internet.”
Although Okosi did not say exactly where the four hubs will be built, he said each landing station aims to cater for a region that more or less aligns with the four cardinal directions, meaning there will be one in the north, east, south and west of the continent.
The move follows the completion of Google’s Equiano subsea cable, which went live in March 2023 and runs along Africa’s West coast. Another cable currently under construction is Umoja. Umoja will be the first subsea cable to connect Africa to Australia. Umoja’s go-live date is yet to be announced.
‘Foundational’
Google in October 2021 earmarked US$1-billion for infrastructure investment into the African continent over five years. According to Okosi, the investment into the connectivity hubs is new and the company has “definitely surpassed” the $1-billion figure initially committed to.
In a statement on Thursday, Google confirmed that one of the four connectivity hubs will be built in South Africa. Additionally, Google will offer free one-year Google AI Pro subscriptions to tertiary students in South Africa and six other unnamed countries. Over the next year, Google also plans to inject a further US$9-million in funding for African universities and research institutions, said the statement.
Read: Google to build South Africa to Australia subsea cable called Umoja
“For us, this is foundational for us to create more connectivity and be able leverage this new AI opportunity that we have for Africa. The foundation for our strategy is connectivity, and we continue to invest in that – whether it’s infrastructure with the work we are doing with Equiano and Umoja, to the cloud region, or the work we are doing on skilling and AI research,” said Okosi. – © 2025 NewsCentral Media
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