AFR-IX Telecom has secured funding from the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) to study the feasibility of extending its Medusa subsea cable from the Mediterranean into West Africa.
The USTDA grant will support technical and commercial assessments, though AFR-IX has yet to disclose potential routes or landing points. The company has previously signed an agreement to land Medusa in Port-Gentil, Gabon, and has flagged interest in a Democratic Republic of Congo landing.
“Subsea cables are the foundation for Africa’s digital future,” said Thomas R. Hardy, USTDA’s acting director. “Secure, reliable digital infrastructure provides the bandwidth to enable AI, quantum computing, and 6G. USTDA’s involvement will help secure it against untrusted providers that could manipulate markets, intercept data, and conduct surveillance.”

The 8,700km Medusa cable, set to go live this year, runs from Lisbon, Portugal, through the Mediterranean to Port Said, Egypt. First announced in 2022, the 24-fiber pair system will land in Spain, France, Sicily, Greece, Cyprus, and across North Africa at Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya, with each pair offering 20Tbps of capacity.
“Medusa will be transformational for digital connectivity along Africa’s Atlantic coast,” said Norman Albi, CEO of AFR-IX and Medusa Africa Submarine Cable System. “USTDA’s support is truly catalytic – turning an ambitious vision into a bankable project and accelerating the partnerships needed to bring it to life.”
Medusa is backed by AFR-IX Telecom, Orange, and the European Union, which earlier this year provided €14.3 million ($15.6 million) to extend the system to West Africa.

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