center3 Rolls Out 800G Submarine Network with Ciena

center3, a wholly owned subsidiary of stc Group, has selected Ciena's cutting-edge solutions and technologies for its fiber pairs on the new submarine network “2Africa.”

The 2Africa submarine cable system, which lands in Saudi Arabia at Jeddah and Yanbu, provides reliable, high-bandwidth connectivity onward to three continents. With Ciena’s 800G technology, center3 can serve both regional and international digital needs with advanced communication, cloud, and data center hosting services.

2Africa is an “Open Cable” owned by a consortium of global partners, including center3. At 45,000km in length, it is the longest submarine cable system ever deployed, connecting 33 countries through 46 landing stations. It is expected to drive strong economic growth in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region.

“center3 is committed to achieve its vision of making the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia the main digital hub connecting the continents of Asia, Europe, and Africa, and to become a worldwide leader in the digital economy in line with Saudi Vision 2030. The 2Africa submarine cable is a significant step forward in realizing this vision, placing the Kingdom at the heart of international data connectivity and solidifying its standing as a regional data center hub in the MENA region,” said Fahad Alhajeri, CEO at center3.

“We chose Ciena for our new submarine network because of its proven technology, unparalleled track record in the submarine networking space, and long history of successful collaboration with stc Group,” Alhajeri added.

Virginie Hollebecque, Vice President of EMEA at Ciena, said: “Given center3's major investment in the 2Africa cable system, it is positioned to accelerate the growth of digitization across three continents. It will play a key role in expanding and fast-tracking competitive digital services across a vast region of the world—and in creating thriving digital societies. With Ciena’s industry-leading GeoMesh Extreme, center3 will enable its hyperscaler and carrier customers to support the rapid growth of 5G, streaming, content, gaming, and other big data applications for several hundred million people and businesses.”