West Africa’s internet backbone is set for a major boost as CSquared, a wholesale provider of fiber network infrastructure, announced plans to integrate subsea cables with extensive terrestrial fiber routes to strengthen digital resilience across the region.
Willem Marais, the chief commercial officer at CSquared, in an interview with BusinessDay, said the initiative is aimed at addressing recurring service disruptions caused by damage to undersea cables, while also ensuring that connectivity reaches landlocked countries across the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
“Undersea cable systems are inherently at risk of exposure, from underwater shifts to tectonic plate movements that damage these networks. The industry has been investing in new submarine systems like Equiano and 2Africa, but the real resilience comes when we connect those landing stations by land through robust terrestrial fiber,” Marais explained.
CSquared already operates buried fiber networks in Ghana, Liberia, Togo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Uganda, and is a major investor in Google’s Equiano submarine cable. In partnership with Phase 3 Telecom in Nigeria and Espin in Benin, the company is currently deploying a cross-border corridor that links Accra to Lagos, creating a terrestrial route that ties Equiano’s landing points in Togo to Nigeria’s commercial hub.
According to Marais, this expansion is more than just a backup plan for undersea outages. It is designed to lower data costs, improve broadband access, and open up international connectivity for landlocked economies like Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger. “Data is the bloodline of life. Without it, we cannot transact, learn, or innovate. Fiber networks give us the scale to deliver affordable bandwidth and connect communities far from the coast,” he said.
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The company is also aligning its projects with Africa’s fast-growing digital economy. With both the Equiano and 2Africa cable systems landing in Lagos, Accra, and Abidjan, CSquared plans to build a terrestrial digital superhighway linking these hubs. The project is expected to enable seamless commerce, innovation, and digital services across West Africa, a region that houses one-third of Africa’s population.
Nigeria, which recently unveiled a plan to roll out 90,000 kilometers of fiber by the end of the year, has been identified as a critical market in this strategy.
Marais welcomed the Nigerian government’s ambition, urging strong public–private partnerships to ensure quality and sustainability. “We have worked with governments such as Togo’s, through joint ventures, to deliver shared infrastructure. Nigeria deserves the same level of collaboration,” he noted.
CSquared has already invested more than $100 million in Africa’s digital backbone, with a clear focus on the ECOWAS sub-region. Marais said the company’s long-term goal, is to continue expanding terrestrial and metro fiber networks that integrate with subsea systems to ensure Africa is not only connected but resilient.
“Landing a cable in Lagos or Lome means little if the connectivity cannot reach the interior where people and businesses need it. That is the gap we are filling, which is linking the coast to the hinterlands, and Africa to the world,” Marais said.
