Airtel boosts global bandwidth with 2Africa Pearls subsea cable landing in India

Bharti Airtel has announced the landing of the 2Africa Pearls subsea cable in India, a move that strengthens the country’s international connectivity with Africa and Europe via the Middle East. Airtel is the designated landing partner in India for this high-capacity system, working in partnership with 2Africa Pearls investors center3 and Meta.

The 2Africa Pearls cable brings over 100 terabits per second (Tbps) of international bandwidth to India. As part of the larger 2Africa cable system, which is set to become the world’s longest subsea cable at over 45,000 km, this initiative marks a significant milestone in global digital infrastructure.

“This development enhances our network resilience and reflects our commitment to future-proofing our infrastructure,” said Sharat Sinha, Director and CEO of Airtel Business. “We will continue to invest in global cable systems to deliver superior quality and reliable connectivity to our customers.”

What is 2Africa Cable System?

The 2Africa Pearls is a part of the 2Africa cable system, which will be the world's longest subsea cable system when completed, spanning over 45,000 kilometres. It is led by a global consortium of Bayobab, center3, China Mobile International, Meta, Orange, Telecom Egypt, Vodafone Group, and WIOCC. Alcatel Submarine Networks is responsible for manufacturing and deploying the system. Notably, 2Africa is among the first cables to use spatial division multiplexing (SDM1), allowing for higher data throughput—up to 180 Tbps across 16 fibre pairs.

The cable’s landing in India comes at a time when the country is experiencing exponential growth in data consumption, driven by the expansion of cloud computing, video streaming, and enterprise digital transformation. Reliable and scalable international bandwidth is critical to supporting these demands.

Airtel’s Network Infrastructure

Bharti Airtel’s global network spans 400,000 route kilometres across 50 countries and five continents. The company has investments in 34 cables globally, including 2Africa, Southeast Asia-Japan Cable 2 (SJC2) and Equiano.

Apart from these cables that connect India to key regions like APAC, Europe, the Middle East and US, Airtel’s global subsea network investments also include large cable systems like i2i Cable Network (i2icn), Europe India Gateway (EIG), IMEWE, SEA-ME-WE-4, AAG, Unity, EASSy, Gulf Bridge International (GBI) and Middle East North Africa Submarine Cable (MENA Cable).

The addition of 2Africa Pearls further diversifies Airtel’s international capacity portfolio, strengthening India’s position as a digital hub in the region and providing the backbone for future technologies, including 5G, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet of Things.

The cable also aligns with India’s ambition to enhance its digital economy and bridge the connectivity gap with Africa and other emerging markets, offering new opportunities for trade, education, and innovation.