Mali and Senegal National Fiber Backbone Networks Achieve Cross-Border Interconnection

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On October 5, Mali's state-owned transmission and broadcasting company SMTD-SA and Senegal's state-owned digital infrastructure operator SENUM-SA activated a cross-border fiber interconnection link at the border between the two countries, officially connecting the national fiber backbone networks of both countries. The interconnection node is located between Kidira in the Tambacounda region of Senegal and Diboli in Mali. The project was coordinated and implemented by the West African Backbone Network Organization (ROA-BN). The new link has been put into operation, allowing Mali to access additional international submarine cable systems through Senegal's fiber infrastructure.

This interconnection connects the Malian national fiber backbone network operated by SMTD-SA with the Senegalese public backbone network managed by SENUM-SA. The two companies are respectively responsible for the operation of their respective national networks and the coordination of cross-border connectivity. The link completed physical interconnection at the Kidira–Diboli border node, directly carrying data transmission between the two countries and providing an additional cross-border communication route. The Malian government confirmed that the new link has traffic backup routing capability, allowing data traffic to be rerouted through other connection lines when existing transmission paths fail.

Senegal's digital company owns the SHARE submarine cable connecting Dakar with Praia, Cape Verde. This system forms international network interconnection relationships with the EllaLink submarine cable connecting Portugal and Brazil, as well as the West Africa Cable System (WACS) connecting Portugal and South Africa. Dakar also hosts landing facilities for submarine cable systems such as 2Africa, the Africa Coast to Europe cable (ACE), and SAT-3. This terrestrial backbone connection adds a new path for Mali to access the international communication network through Senegal.

The two countries' operators previously participated in the ROA-BN regional working meeting on the West African backbone network in April 2026 and reached an agreement on the regional interconnection roadmap. The opening of the Kidira–Diboli cross-border link is the actual engineering milestone resulting from the agreement between the two parties. ROA-BN is headquartered in Guinea and is currently chaired by Mali, with SMTD-SA General Manager Cheick Oumar Traoré responsible for related regional coordination work.

ROA-BN's regional interconnection plan involves multiple West African countries beyond Mali, Senegal, Guinea, and Guinea-Bissau, with the 9 announced participating countries including Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Sierra Leone, and Senegal. The organization plans to gradually interconnect the national backbone networks of each country and has set a goal of covering 80% of the combined population of participating countries by 2033.

The governments and operators of both countries also plan to strengthen the physical protection of cross-border fiber infrastructure, transmission link monitoring, and coordinated fault handling. The Malian government proposed that both sides will carry out cross-border coordination in subsequent network operations and continue to advance backbone network connections with other West African countries.