Libya has now formally acknowledged that it will be connecting to the Medusa submarine cable project. The Medusa submarine cable system will connect Libya to Europe via the countries of the Mediterranean Basin.
The independent online daily Libya Herald reports that the Libyan United International Company (LUIC), a consortium of several private sector Libyan companies working in the communications field, signed a contract last Thursday to connect Libya to the cable project. The agreement was marked by a major signing ceremony held in Tripoli.
According to the Chairman of the LUIC, Ibrahim Rehab, the cable will make Libya an exporter of telecommunications and internet services to African countries located to the immediate south of Libya in the first stage and to sub-Saharan countries in the second stage.
He also suggests that the cable will contribute to making Libya an important hub for linking Europe to Africa, reduce congestion, raise capacity and diversify options for data movement, including adding channels in the cities of Tripoli and Benghazi.
At the moment Medusa is expected to be ready for the service in 2025, wnen it will be connecting Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Morocco and Algeria. In 2026 it will reach Tunisia, Greece, Cyprus and Egypt – and presumably Libya. It has been estimated that the Libyan connection to the Medusa cable will require approximately 26 months to effect.
