Ethiopia, Djibouti, and Sudan have just signed a tripartite agreement to build the “Horizon” terrestrial fiber optic corridor, linking Djibouti’s submarine landing stations to those in Sudan via Ethiopia.
A Protocol to Secure Regional Connectivity
Ethio Telecom, Djibouti Telecom, and Sudatel initialed a memorandum of understanding in Djibouti aimed at creating a resilient terrestrial network to address the vulnerabilities of Red Sea submarine cables (anchoring incidents, conflicts).
- This “Horizon” corridor will connect international landing points in Djibouti, cross Ethiopia, and reach Sudanese infrastructure, offering a robust alternative to fragile maritime routes.
- Signed on February 4, 2026, this agreement is part of a regional initiative to improve bandwidth and the reliability of connections to Europe and Asia.
Why a terrestrial corridor is vital
Submarine cables in the shallow waters of the Red Sea are regularly damaged by ship anchors or geopolitical tensions, causing massive outages affecting millions of users.
This secure terrestrial network will enable:
- redundancy for transcontinental internet traffic;
- uninterrupted global communication services for regional operators;
- better digital integration of the Horn of Africa with the rest of the continent and the world.
Technical and economic stakes
The “Horizon” project targets the interconnection of existing infrastructure:
- stations in Djibouti (landing of EASSy, SEACOM, PEACE cables, etc.);
- the rapidly expanding Ethiopian network (Ethio Telecom aims for 10 Tbps);
- Sudanese infrastructure for a loop to North and East Africa.
Economically, it allows operators to boost their revenues through capacity leased to third parties, while reducing dependence on vulnerable submarine cables.
A step towards African digital integration
This tripartite corridor illustrates pragmatic cooperation in the Horn of Africa: Ethiopia (continental hub), Djibouti (maritime gateway), and Sudan (northeast link).
It aligns with the digital AfCFTA and initiatives like 2Africa and PEACE, strengthening bandwidth sovereignty for local services (e-governance, fintech, online education).
If work progresses rapidly, Horizon could be operational by the end of 2027, transforming the region into a reliable hub for East African internet traffic.
