Telecommunication and digital service provider Orange has landed its 1,050 km-long segment cable network named “Medusa” in Marseille. Medusa connects Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas, and its new Marseille–Bizerte cable segment directly links France to Tunisia, addressing the region’s rising bandwidth requirements.
In a press release, the company revealed that the cable has a fully redundant fiber optic infrastructure with direct access to all interconnected data centers in Marseille and links major European hubs including Paris, London, and Frankfurt.
Michael Trabbia, CEO of Orange Wholesale, highlighted the significance of the project saying, “This landing strengthens Europe’s digital sovereignty and positions Marseille as a global digital hub, now hosting 17 submarine cables connected worldwide.”
The project is supported by the European Union’s Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) and aligns with the European Global Gateway strategy to strengthen Europe–Africa connectivity through three pairs of Orange-owned fibers are included under this initiative.
The cable was supplied by Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN), with Elettra Tlc, an Orange subsidiary, coordinating the operation. Cable-laying was conducted by Orange Marine’s Sophie Germain, a vessel designed for low environmental impact. In line with Orange’s environmental commitments, the cable’s landing operation used horizontal directional drilling to protect sensitive marine habitats, including Posidonia seagrass meadows and the Calanques National Park.
Orange is involved in over 40 submarine cables spanning nearly 450,000 kilometers worldwide. This latest development underscores its ongoing investment in resilient, sustainable digital infrastructure reinforcing Marseille’s status as a strategic Mediterranean gateway and a cornerstone of Europe’s digital future.