Google’s undersea cable Equiano has arrived in Togo, and will run from Lisbon in Portugal to Cape Town in South Africa along the African coastline of the Atlantic Ocean.

Google expects internet speeds in Togo to double from the current 10Mbps to 21Mbps in 2025, while retail internet prices are predicted to decline by 14% over the same period.

The company said in the next three years Equiano aims to indirectly create 37,000 new jobs in Togo, driven by the growth of the digital economy and peripheral sectors.

Part of Google’s US$1-billion programme to build digital capacity in Africa, the new cable will also land in Namibia, Nigeria and South Africa with branches offering connections to other countries.

Equiano is scheduled to be operational by the end of 2022 and will carry 20 times more network capacity than the last cable built to serve the region.

Google Sub-Sahara Africa Managing Director Nitin Gajria said Google has worked with local partners to ensure that the cable will be able to improve reliability in global communications.

Gajria said: “As 300 million people come online in Africa over the next five years, the Equiano cable is part of our ongoing commitment - expanding opportunities and improving connectivity in order to help bring the benefits of technology to more Africans. We are partnering with multiple telecom players where Equiano lands to ensure that the cable can reach more businesses and end users across Togo and the African continent more broadly.”

Togo’s Minister of Posts, Digital Economy and Technological Innovation Cina Lawson said, “With this new cable, we will be able to meet the needs of the government’s roadmap for bolstering the international connection to the global network.”