R1.7 Billion Indian Ocean Cable to Replace Aging SAFE Link by 2028
A new R1.7 billion submarine cable with 320Tbit/s capacity is set to be deployed across the Indian Ocean by 2028, replacing the aging SAFE cable that has served as a primary link for South Africa and the wider region. The project represents a major bandwidth upgrade for regional connectivity infrastructure.
SAFE Cable: South Africa's next internet upgrade is already crowded before it arrives
The SAFE cable has run 13,500km across the Indian Ocean since 2002. It's expected to give out from 2027. ReuNION is being built specifically to replace it — 320Tbit/s of new capacity, ready by 2028.
But here's the thing: ReuNION is joining a queue, not filling a gap. Google's Umoja route, Seacom's new system, Meta's 2Africa and Project Waterworth all touch South Africa too.
That pile-up is actually the point. Redundancy is the whole game with subsea cables — when one cuts or fails, traffic reroutes. The real question isn't whether South Africa gets bandwidth. It's whether that bandwidth reaches inland fast enough to matter for everyone building digital services away from the coast.
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- Ageing Safe cable prompts new R1.7-billion Indian Ocean link · techcentral.co.za · T2