Ethio telecom, Djibouti Telecom and Sudatel Group have signed a Tripartite Agreement under the Horizon Fiber Initiative, marking a significant milestone in regional digital integration.
The agreement will deploy high-capacity, cross-border and multi-terabit optical fibre infrastructure and, establishing a terrestrial fibre corridor that will connect the international submarine cable landing stations in Djibouti. It will then travel through Ethiopia and extend towards Sudan’s landing stations.
Ultimately, the new route hopes to create a scalable, secure and diversified regional connectivity pathway linking East Africa to global digital networks.
“The Horizon Fiber initiative lays the foundation for a future-ready digital backbone that connects countries, supports economic growth, and positions the region as a reliable gateway within the global digital ecosystem,” said Frehiwot Tamru, CEO at Ethio telecom at the signing, as reported by CIO Africa.
The Horizon Fiber initiative is designed to enhance international bandwidth capacity, strengthen network resilience and redundancy and support the rapidly growing demand for data, cloud services and hyperscale connectivity, digital platforms and cross-border data flows across the region.
It also hopes to support the accelerating digital economy in Africa, which is being driven by rising cloud adoption, AI and enterprise digitalisation.
Ethio telecom said the initiative is a critical enabler of its 2028 strategy, Next Horizon: Digital & Beyond, and therefore reinforces its ambition to evolve from a national operator into a regional digital connectivity and infrastructure leader.
“Horizon Fiber strengthens Ethiopia’s position as a strategic digital transit hub, supports international expansion and underpins advanced digital services including cloud, data centres, enterprise solutions and cross-border digital trade,” the company said via its press release.
Speaking on the occasion, the CEOs of each operator emphasised the Horizon Fiber Initiative reflects a shared vision of regional cooperation, innovation-driven partnerships and inclusive digital transformation.
“The Horizon project opens a new chapter in the development and integration of telecommunications infrastructure in our region, with a common goal of progress and shared prosperity,” said Djibouti Telecom CEO Mohamed Assoweh Bouh, according to CIO Africa.
“It demonstrates our ability to build strategic infrastructure together, strengthen our digital sovereignty and affirm our role on the global stage.”
The partnership also builds on an earlier Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in Addis Ababa in December 2024.
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