Altice Portugal and the Medusa submarine cable system, operator of Mediterranean Submarine Infrastructures, have signed an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) for the mooring of Medusa in Portugal. The agreement was signed during the Subsea World 2022 conference in Marseille by the Managing Director and CEO of AFR-IX Telecom, Norman Albi and the COO of Altice Portugal, Alexander Freese.
The Carcavelos submarine cable station will be the western point of the more than 8,700 km route of Medusa, the longest submarine cable in the Mediterranean, which will connect nine countries in Africa and Europe through its mooring points in Portugal, Morocco, Spain, France, Algeria, Tunisia, Italy, Greece, Egypt and Cyprus.
Norman Albi, CEO of AFR-IX, highlighted the importance of the agreement with Altice Portugal, saying: "The Portuguese coast has always been strategic for generating connections, as it is the gateway to the Atlantic and West Africa. It was decisive for Medusa to start its route in Portugal and Carcavelos offers the ideal conditions for this". Norman Albi also stressed the need for Medusa as an alternative to the Mediterranean cables, which are coming to the end of their life cycle.
For his part, Alexander Freese, Chief Operations Officer of Altice Portugal, emphasized that "Altice Portugal, as a leader in the communications sector in Portugal, is proud to help create a gateway to Europe for such important assets in the communications industry as the Medusa submarine cable, reinforcing its commitment to the national and global economy".
Medusa arrives in Carcavelos in 2024 with an investment of 326 million euros
The Medusa project involves a total investment of 326 million euros. The cable, which will be built by Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN), will have segments integrating up to 24 fiber pairs with a capacity design of 20 Tbit/s per fiber pair.
The agreement with Altice Portugal will allow the first segment of Medusa, linking Carcavelos station, Barcelona and Marseille, to become a reality. AFR-IX estimates that the cable will arrive in Portugal during the second quarter of 2024.
In addition to the know-how and infrastructure provided by Altice Portugal, future Medusa customers will be able to benefit from the connection between the Carcavelos International Station and the company's international network collocation and interconnection center in Linda-a-Velha.
In this partnership project with AFR-IX, Altice Portugal will ensure the mooring services of the submarine cable, including power and ducts from the beach to the station; operation and maintenance services, and connectivity between the station and other international reference points in Portugal, namely data centers, other submarine cable stations and teleports.