Google announced that it will launch the first-ever submarine cable route between Africa and Australia, named “Umoja,” a Swahhili word that means unity.

 A press release said that the fiber optic route will pass through Uganda, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa, including the Google Cloud region, before crossing the Indian Ocean to Australia. Umoja’s terrestrial path was built in collaboration with Liquid Intelligent Technologies to form a highly scalable route through Africa, including access points that will allow other countries to take advantage of the network.

Umoja joins Equiano in an initiative called Africa Connect. Umoja will enable African countries to more reliably connect with each other and the rest of the world. Establishing a new route distinct from existing connectivity routes is critical to maintaining a resilient network for a region that has historically experienced high-impact outages.

Since Google opened its first Sub-Saharan Africa office in Nairobi in 2007, the company has partnered with governments from countries across Africa on numerous digital initiatives. In 2021, Google committed to invest $1 billion in Africa over five years to support a range of efforts, from improved connectivity to investment in startups, to help boost Africa’s digital transformation. “Since then, Google has invested more than $900 million in the region, and we expect to fulfill our commitment by 2026. ... Google is as committed as ever to partnering with communities, businesses, and governments in Africa to help foster even more innovation across the continent.”