Orange joins ReuNION submarine cable project, planned to be operational in 2028

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 2, Orange, together with a consortium formed by Telco OI, Réunicable, and La Réunion Connectée, advanced the ReuNION submarine fiber-optic cable project. The new system will connect Réunion with South Africa, featuring 16 fiber pairs, each with a designed capacity of 20 Tbps, bringing the total system capacity to 320 Tbps. Relevant agreements among the consortium members have been signed. The next steps for the project include detailed marine surveys, permit applications, and the initiation of cable manufacturing and laying work.

The allocation plan for the 16 fiber pairs has been finalized: La Réunion Connectée will receive 12 pairs, Orange will receive 2 pairs, and Telco OI and Réunicable will each receive 1 pair. La Réunion Connectée, as the public operating entity representing the Réunion region, is responsible for driving the project forward, with four public and private operators jointly participating in the cable construction. The first phase of ReuNION connects Réunion with South Africa, and the subsequent second phase is planned to extend from Réunion onward to Singapore.

Within the consortium, Orange assumes the role of cable landing party on the Réunion side, with responsibilities including obtaining local permits, carrying out civil works at the coastal landing site, building a secure landing station, and connecting the submarine cable to the island's terrestrial telecommunications network. Orange Marine is responsible for offshore laying, while Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN) is responsible for the design and manufacturing of the cable system.

The funding scale currently confirmed for the ReuNION project amounts to €93.1 million. Of this, the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF/FEDER) provides €30 million, consortium operators contribute €36.6 million, the EU's Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) provides €20 million, and the French government provides €6.5 million.

The project construction period is planned over three years. In 2026, in-depth technical studies will be conducted and the submarine route will be finalized; in 2027, industrial cable manufacturing, offshore laying, and landing station construction will be carried out; and in 2028, commissioning will be completed and operations will begin. Currently, the project remains in the engineering study and permit preparation stage, with cable manufacturing, laying, and landing station construction all scheduled for subsequent phases.

ReuNION will also supplement Réunion's existing international telecommunications routes. The first phase of the project explicitly undertakes the redundancy role for existing cables, including the METISS cable; some existing submarine telecommunications systems in the region are also approaching the end of their designed operational lifespan. The new route takes a direct path to South Africa and is equipped with dedicated fiber pairs for use by consortium members.