By Asha Elmi - Reporter
Addis Ababa, 10 September 2026 Ethio Telecom, Djibouti Telecom and Sudatel Group have advanced the pre-commercialization phase of a cross-border fiber network linking Djibouti, Ethiopia and Sudan, as global technology and connectivity companies assess the potential of the new route.
The three telecom operators hosted a stakeholders workshop in Addis Ababa focused on the commercial and technical requirements of the Horizon cross-border terrestrial fiber initiative, according to Ethio Telecom on Wednesday.
The project is being developed under a consortium framework and is designed to provide global carriers and hyperscalers with a high-capacity, low-latency and resilient alternative route for subsea cable traffic crossing the Red Sea.
The planned corridor connects cable landing stations in Djibouti with those in Port Sudan through Ethiopia. It uses a fully protected and redundant network architecture intended to strengthen the reliability of the route.
The workshop brought together representatives from major technology and connectivity companies, including Google, Meta through HIPConsult, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, Airtel Africa, Bayobab, WIOCC, center3, Saudi Vision and China Mobile International, alongside technology partners Ciena, Nokia and BringCom.
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Ethio Telecom said participating partners and global operators expressed strong interest in using and monetizing the multi-terabit capacity of the Horizon fiber corridor.
Ciena, Nokia and BringCom provided technical perspectives on network architecture and technologies for developing the high-capacity route.
The Horizon initiative is designed to provide data transport, colocation and hosting services, with landing access in both Djibouti and Sudan.
The network is intended to support growing demand from sectors including cloud computing, artificial intelligence, financial technology, e-commerce and digital content delivery, Ethio Telecom said.
The initiative brings together the infrastructure and regional reach of three national telecom operators to create a cross-border digital corridor connecting East Africa with the Red Sea.