Cameroon Edges Closer to Medusa Africa Cable Connection After MoU Completion

Cameroon has advanced its plan to join the Medusa Africa submarine cable network, a major upgrade to the country’s international connectivity. The memorandum of understanding has been completed and forwarded to the Presidency for sign-off, the final administrative step before the state confirms its participation. The Cameroonian segment is budgeted at 32.8 billion CFA francs (about $58.6 million) for construction and operation.

Medusa Africa forms the West African extension of the broader Medusa Mediterranean system led by AFR-IX Telecom Group, a Barcelona-based operator already present in Cameroon through a local subsidiary. The EU-funded project is scheduled to enter service in 2028 and will link Southern Europe with North Africa and the Atlantic coast via landing points in Dakar, Abidjan, Accra, Lagos, Kribi, Libreville, Luanda and Cape Town. Once connected, Cameroon will hold five international cable links, alongside SAIL, WACS, SAT-3 and the Nigeria Cameroon Submarine Cable System (NCSCS).

The system uses 24 fibre pairs per segment with throughput ranging from 10 to 18 terabits per second per pair. It is built as an open-access infrastructure designed to support long-term capacity growth. For Cameroon, Medusa also offers a practical replacement for the aging SAT-3 cable, whose limited capacity and rising maintenance costs have made it increasingly burdensome. Unlike SAT-3’s single-direction layout, Medusa provides multiple routes to Europe, North Africa, Southern Africa and, through further interconnections, Southeast Asia.

Broader Impact

The new link places Cameroon as a potential landing point for global cloud and content providers, including Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Meta and Apple. Their entry could draw investment into data-center development, edge infrastructure and digital services. One source noted that, unlike CEIBA 2, NCSCS and SAIL systems that simply bridge two countries Medusa offers broad geographic reach, connecting Cameroon to Europe, South Africa, the Maghreb and Asia.

Medusa also strengthens Cameroon’s role within Central Africa. The country would gain higher international capacity, additional routes to Europe and improved conditions for interconnecting local data centers with global platforms. This expansion could also support services such as local cloud hosting, cybersecurity operations and content caching, while easing pressure on existing systems such as SAT-3, WACS and SAIL.

Project documents also outline fiscal gains tied to the growth of high-value digital services, mirroring revenue structures adopted in several EU markets.

Hurdles to Address

Success will depend on adopting a commercial model that encourages major operators to land traffic in Cameroon. This includes competitive cross connect pricing, reliable links between local data centers and the new landing station, and the rollout of services such as cloud gateways and local caches. The incumbent operator will also need to make efficient use of the new capacity.

Camtel currently uses only 16% of the aggregate capacity on its four submarine cables, according to a June 2024 Chamber of Accounts report. Utilization ranges from 6% on SAIL to 92% on NCSCS. These disparities raise concerns about demand growth and commercial planning. Camtel attributes the low usage to limited internet penetration in the region and to the fact that most African traffic flows to Europe, which reduces reliance on SAIL. Medusa’s arrival could change these traffic patterns and require a recalibration of routing strategies and service offerings.

Read more about Cameroon Telecoms HERE