By: Tewodros Balcha
Ethio telecom,
Djibouti Telecom and Sudatel Group have advanced the pre-commercialisation
phase of the Horizon Cross-Border Terrestrial Fiber Network, bringing together
global carriers, hyperscalers and technology partners to assess the commercial
and technical requirements of a new terrestrial route connecting Djibouti,
Ethiopia and Sudan.
Formalised
under a partnership agreement signed on 4 February 2026, Horizon is being
developed under a consortium framework to provide high-capacity connectivity,
wavelength, colocation and hosting services to regional and international
carriers and hyperscalers.
The corridor
connects submarine cable landing stations in Djibouti with those in Port Sudan
through Ethiopia, providing a shorter, low-latency terrestrial alternative for
subsea cable traffic passing across the Red Sea. The network is engineered with
a fully protected 1+1 configuration, incorporating diverse main and protection
paths to strengthen route resilience.
The Addis Ababa
stakeholders' workshop brought together representatives from Google, Meta
through HIPConsult, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services (AWS), China Mobile
International, Airtel Africa, Bayobab, Vodafone, WIOCC, center3, Vision Invest
and other regional connectivity stakeholders, alongside technology partners
including Ciena, Nokia and BringCom.
The
participation of major global technology and connectivity companies comes as
international operators and digital infrastructure providers increasingly
assess route diversity and resilience for growing cross-border data traffic.
Google delegate
Ricardo Orcero, Senior Strategic Negotiator, described Horizon as a “viable,
low-latency and resilient alternative” to Red Sea subsea routes, highlighting
the strategic value being placed on the corridor by participating international
stakeholders.
During the
workshop, Ciena, Nokia and BringCom presented technical solutions and
perspectives covering network architecture, available technologies and options
for developing a resilient, high-capacity and low-latency connectivity route.
Horizon is
designed to provide submarine cable landing access in both Djibouti and Sudan,
with Ethiopia providing the terrestrial transit corridor between the two
landing points. Its planned services include capacity and wavelength
connectivity, colocation and hosting, supporting applications ranging from
cloud computing and artificial intelligence to fintech, e-commerce and digital
content delivery.
The initiative
brings together three national telecom operators to combine infrastructure,
technical expertise and regional network reach into a cross-border digital
corridor linking East Africa with the Red Sea. Following the workshop, the
consortium is progressing engagement with prospective international users and
partners as Horizon moves toward commercial service readiness.
