"Senior Transmission Architect Nic Breytenbach explained that apparent contradiction to The Register by pointing out that submarine cables run up and down Africa's east and west coasts, but that no single connection crosses the continent. When submarine cables on the east coast - which mostly carry traffic to Europe or Asia - experience trouble, carriers must route traffic south around the Cape of Good Hope, then all the way up Africa's west coast. Capacity on submarine cables is hard to find, and expensive when available."
"But no such connection exists. Breytenbach said the combination of rugged terrain that make construction extremely difficult, the need for energy sources along the route, and political instability have all made it infeasible to build a cable on Seacom's preferred route from the Kenyan port of Mombasa to the Democratic Republic of Congo's sliver of South Atlantic coastline."
Seacom is investigating a submarine-style cable route across central Africa to provide a direct east–west connection and reduce rerouting via the Cape of Good Hope. Coastal submarine cables carry most traffic but lack a single transcontinental link, forcing costly, high-latency detours when east coast systems fail. Rugged terrain, the need for energy sources along a land route, and political instability have previously made a Mombasa-to-DRC route infeasible. Submarine cable technology could avoid onboard energy needs, traverse underwater or swamp sections to deter tampering, and reduce metal-theft risk by using aluminium and optical fibre, though designers must address assumptions about cold ocean depths.
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