- Morocco marks a milestone with the arrival of the Medusa subsea cable in Nador, connecting North Africa more directly with European networks.
- The new infrastructure boosts international bandwidth capacity, yet raises questions about dependence on transnational systems and regional autonomy.
What happened: Medusa subsea cable makes its first landing in Morocco
The Medusa submarine cable system has reached Nador on Morocco’s Mediterranean coast, marking a significant step in the rollout of one of the largest subsea communication networks in the region. The deployment follows previous landings in Marseille, France and Bizerte, Tunisia and forms part of a planned network spanning more than 8,700 kilometres with 19 landing points across Europe and North Africa. The segment linking Nador to Marseille is expected to be active by early 2026.
Orange Maroc and Moroccan operator Inwi collaborated on the Moroccan branch of the cable, with Orange also inaugurating the country’s first open-access cable landing station (CLS) at Nador. The CLS, designed to host future subsea connections in addition to Medusa, covers some 3,500 square metres and includes significant IT capacity.
Medusa’s infrastructure is being funded by a consortium that includes AFR-IX Telecom, Orange and the European Union, and is due to carry multiple fibre pairs capable of tens of terabits per second. Inwi has secured a 1,416-kilometre high-speed route to Marseille, which authorities say should enhance redundancy in international connectivity and improve resilience amid rising data traffic.
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Why it’s important
For Morocco, the arrival of Medusa signals an expansion of international connectivity options and supports national ambitions to be a digital hub in the Mediterranean region. Government and operator statements frame the investment as contributing to digital sovereignty and economic competitiveness by diversifying routes and adding capacity for high-speed data exchanges.
However, the development also underscores broader questions about the balance between regional infrastructure autonomy and reliance on transnational networks. While subsea cables like Medusa offer high capacity and updated routing, their governance, ownership and operational control remain largely in the hands of multinational consortia. This raises issues about how far such projects serve local priorities versus broader strategic interests driven by external actors.
Moreover, the technical complexity and cost of subsea infrastructure mean that countries often depend on partnerships with international telecom companies or funding mechanisms such as the European Union’s Connecting Europe Facility. This can complicate efforts to maintain independent control over critical data pathways, as well as decisions about pricing, access and regulation for local users.
As Medusa continues its rollout through 2026, observers will be watching how Morocco and other landing nations manage the interplay between enhanced connectivity and digital autonomy in an increasingly interconnected, but still geopolitically complex, internet landscape.
