Finnish vendor Nokia will provide its subsea cable connectivity for the Medusa Submarine Cable System.

In an announcement this week, Nokia revealed that it will provide its 1830 Global Express (GX) platform and ICE7 coherent optics to help power the cable, which will connect Europe to Africa.

The 8,700km (5,405 miles) Medusa cable will have 17 landing points across Algeria, Cyprus, Egypt, France, Greece, Italy, Libya, Morocco, Portugal, Spain, and Tunisia when launched in early 2026.

It was first announced back in 2022, with construction beginning a year later.

Medusa has been funded by AFR-IX Telecom, Orange, and the European Union and carried out by Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN), Elettra Tlc, Medusa, Orange, and now Nokia.

Nokia claims that its GX platform and optics are able to transmit tens of terabits per second per fiber pair.

"Medusa is helping to deliver new, faster, and more reliable connectivity to millions of people, opening the door to greater innovation and deeper integration into the global digital economy,” said John Harrington, SVP & head of NI Europe, MEA & APAC sales at Nokia.

The company adds that the cable will support the rollout of 5G, cloud infrastructure, and the increasing bandwidth demands of AI and future technologies.

"Medusa is laying the groundwork for a more connected and inclusive digital future,” said Miguel Angel Acero, CTO and founder of Medusa.

“With Nokia’s subsea optical solution, we will be able to deliver greater value to our customers by offering faster, more reliable connectivity at a lower cost, with the flexibility to scale as needs evolve. This partnership ensures we meet the demands of today while building a strong, future-ready infrastructure for tomorrow."

Headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, Medusa is both the name of the cable and the name of the infrastructure provider behind it.

Orange Tunisie was announced as the landing partner and owner of the Tunisia branch of the Medusa cable in 2023. Medusa is said to be landing at Orange Tunisie’s cable landing station in Bizerte.

Orange will also provide the landing infrastructure for the cable’s landing in Morocco.

Medusa will additionally land in Egypt’s Port Said in partnership with Telecom Egypt, at which point it will then be connected to the Red Sea landing stations of Suez, Zafarana, and Ras Ghareb via Telecom Egypt's terrestrial network.

In March, African infrastructure and telecom operator AFR-IX secured funding from the European Commission for the development of the Medusa Africa subsea cable to support the expansion of the Medusa Submarine Cable System to West Africa.