Global investments in submarine cable infrastructure have climbed sharply to $9.7 billion in 2025, up from just $0.8 billion in 2015, as Nigeria strengthens its position as a major landing point for undersea cables supporting global data traffic.
According to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), submarine cables now carry over 99 per cent of international data flows, forming the unseen backbone of the global digital economy. The ITU disclosed that the world currently hosts more than 500 operational submarine cable systems, spanning about 1.4 million kilometres, with global bandwidth demand growing at an average of 22 per cent annually since 2021.
Findings by The Guardian reveal that Nigeria hosts eight major submarine cable systems, which together convey more than 95 per cent of the country’s international internet and communications traffic. While most of these cables land in Lagos, expansion to other coastal states is gradually underway.
The cables landing in Nigeria include MainOne, SAT-3/WASC (owned by Natcom/ntel), GLO-1 and GLO-2 (Globacom), Africa Coast to Europe (ACE), West Africa Cable System (WACS)—with MTN as a major partner—Equiano (Google), and 2Africa, the Meta-led consortium regarded as the world’s largest submarine cable project.
These investments have significantly boosted Nigeria’s digital capacity, helping broadband penetration reach 50.58 per cent and driving data consumption to about 1.24 million terabytes. In a major milestone, Nigeria recorded one terabit per second (1Tbps) of internet traffic in the first quarter of 2025, reflecting a dramatic surge in bandwidth usage across the country.
Commenting on the development, Chief Executive Officer of the Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria (IXPN), Muhammed Rudman, described the 1Tbps achievement as a game changer, attributing it to the growth of video streaming, social media activity, cloud services, and the rapid expansion of data centres.
The growing involvement of hyperscale technology firms such as Google and Meta in financing submarine cable projects underscores Nigeria’s rising importance in Africa’s digital connectivity landscape and its potential as a regional data hub.
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