Africa Telecom Transmission Network Map 2024

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Press play or drag the slider bar to show operational fibre optic network in each year from 2009 - 2022.

Liquid Intelligent Technologies

This map shows the reach of Liquid Intelligent Technologies (LIT) regional fibre optic network, which reached 110,000-km during 2023. Liquid's network reached the milestone of 100,000-km in 2021, and 60,000-km five years previously in 2018.

Route Kilometres of LIT's transmission network, Africa 2009 - 2023

Terrestrial Transmission Network

Route Kilometres of terrestrial transmission network, Africa 2013 - 2023

Africa’s total inventory of terrestrial fibre optic transmission networks passed the milestone of 1 million route-kms during 2018. By June 2023 the amount of operational fibre optic network reached 1,279,026-km, compared to 936,102-km in 2018 and 524,847-km in 2013. In the twelve months since June 2022, an additional 94,998-km of fibre optic network has entered service, an average of 260-km of new fibre optic network entering service per day. In addition, there was in June 2023 a further 116,578-km of fibre optic network under construction, 133,830-km planned, and 68,805-km proposed.

Approximately one-fifth of the total fibre inventory in Sub-Saharan Africa is within cities: of the inventory of 1,279,026-km of operational terrestrial fibre in June 2023, at least 294,192-km was metropolitan fibre rings and FTTH/B (fibre-to-the-home/ building) networks. These metro rings distribute bandwidth from fibre optic nodes to districts and suburbs around each city. The FTTH/B networks provide the last mile access, delivering fibre bandwidth right to the door.

Fibre Reach

Fibre Reach, Africa 2013 - 2023. Population within reach of operational fibre optic network (million)

The landing of new submarine cables and expansion of terrestrial transmission networks is bringing additional countries, regions, cities and towns within reach of fibre networks for the first time. In the last year alone, network expansion has brought more than 40 million more people within access to high capacity national and international backbone networks, and in the last ten years more than 338 million.

In June 2023, 60.5% of the population in Sub-Saharan Africa (709 million) was within a 25-km range of an operational fibre optic network node. This compared to 57.1% (669 million) in 2022, 56.7% (647 million) in 2021, 55.9% (620 million) in 2020, 55.2% (584 million) in 2019, 54.2% (556 million) in 2018, 55.2% (522 million) in 2017, 48.1% (469 million) in 2016, 45.8% (436 million) in 2015, 44%, (410 million) in 2014, and 41.8% (371 million) in 2013.

Once the fibre network which is currently under construction enters service, the fibre reach of Sub-Saharan Africa will increase to 62.0% (726 million), and once the network which is planned or proposed enters service it will increase to 66.0% (773 million).

International Internet Bandwidth

International Internet bandwidth (Gbps), Africa 2012 - 2022

Africa’s total inbound international Internet bandwidth reached 36.7 Tbps by December 2022. This compared to 26.4 Tbps in 2021, 21.0 Tbps in 2020, 16.1 Tbps in 2019, and 12.1 Tbps in 2018. This total of 36.7 Tbps in 2022 was split between Sub-Saharan Africa, which increased by 37% to reach 23.8 Tbps, and North Africa which increased by 43% to reach 12.9 Tbps.

Almost two-thirds of all this bandwidth to sub-Saharan Africa is supplied to its three largest markets. South Africa’s inbound international Internet bandwidth was 7.515 Tbps in 2022, Kenya was reported at 4.364 Tbps, and Nigeria had an estimated 2.535 Tbps.

Of the total bandwidth of 23.748 Tbps in Sub-Saharan Africa by December 2022, 21.813 Tbps (91.9%) was supplied directly by submarine cable. This total of 21.813 Tbps was a 253% increase compared to 6.184 Tbps in December 2018.

There is plenty of room for future growth: this figure of 21.813 Tbps is still a fraction of the total design capacity of at least 823.8 Tbps that is potentially now available on the 33 submarine cables serving the region in December 2022. When 2Africa enters service during 2024 (180 Tbps), this will take the total design capacity serving the region to over 1 Pbps.

The completion of new cross-border links, and the expansion of capacity on others, has seen the volume of intra-regional traffic backhauled to submarine cable landing points increase by 35% in the last year to reach 1.914 Tbps in December 2022. This compares to 1.422 Tbps in 2021, 1.112 Tbps in 2020, 713 Gbps in 2019, and 547 Gbps in 2018.

Legal Notice and Copyright

Copyright Notice: All rights reserved. Copyright © Hamilton Research Ltd., 2023. No part of these works may be reproduced, copied or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopied or otherwise, without the written permission of Hamilton Research Ltd. Cartography: Paul Hamilton. Acknowledgements: Africa Analysis, African ISP Association (AfrISPA), Balancing Act, ECCAS, ECOWAS, Liquid Telecom, West Indian Ocean Cable Company (WIOCC),World Bank. Some data for North African countries adapted from World Bank 2014: Gelvanovska Natalija, Michel Rogy and Carlo Maria Rossotto. 2014. Broadband Networks in the Middle East and North Africa, Accelerating High-Speed Internet Access. Directions in Development. Washington, DC: World Bank. Doi: 10.1596/978-1-4648-0112-9. License: Creative Commons Attribution CC BY 3.0.

Whilst all reasonable endeavours have been made to ensure that the information contained in this map is as accurate and up-to-date as possible, this publication is provided "as is" and the publisher does not make any warranty of any kind, whether express or implied, including but not limited to the implied warranties and conditions of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, accuracy, completeness and non-infringement. In no event will the publisher be liable for any damages whatsoever, and cannot accept any liability whatsoever for errors or omissions.

Population density: Gridded Population of the World, Version 4 (GPWv4) 2020

The Gridded Population of the World, Version 4 (GPWv4): Population Count, Revision 11 consists of estimates of human population density (number of persons per square kilometer) based on counts consistent with national censuses and population registers, for the years 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2020. A proportional allocation gridding algorithm, utilizing approximately 13.5 million national and sub-national administrative units, was used to assign population counts to 30 arc-second grid cells. The population density rasters were created by dividing the population count raster for a given target year by the land area raster. The data files were produced as global rasters at 30 arc-second (~1 km at the equator) resolution. To enable faster global processing, and in support of research communities, the 30 arc-second count data were aggregated to 2.5 arc-minute, 15 arc-minute, 30 arc-minute and 1 degree resolutions to produce density rasters at these resolutions.

Center for International Earth Science Information Network - CIESIN - Columbia University. 2018. Gridded Population of the World, Version 4 (GPWv4): Population Density, Revision 11. Palisades, NY: NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC). https://doi.org/10.7927/H49C6VHW.