
DARE1
DJIBOUTI AFRICA REGIONAL EXPRESS
In early 2015, Djibouti Telecom decided to build a new regional submarine cable system DARE1 (Djibouti Africa Regional Express1).
Landing across 3 countries and 4 cities, the network will cover 5,000km and will have a capacity per wavelength of 100Gbps. Owned by a consortium of East African telecom operators the project is estimated to cost $86m. As part of the Djibouti Vision 2035 strategy this project will bring much needed fibre optic to the region and has unanimous support across all stakeholders.
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WHY THIS INITIATIVE
While we promoted international connectivity, our region is still widely underserved
- Single optical connection to Mogadishu (EASSy)
- No consortium’s cable landing in Yemen for more than 20 years
Strong Regional ICT Sector Growth
- Clearly recognized as “the” driver for economic growth in Africa (mainly due to mobiles)
- Growth extremely sensible to the availability of large & cheap international capacity
- Near future capacity forecasts expressed in multiple Gbps
INTERNATIONAL CABLE NETWORK:
THE DJIBOUTI “ROAD”

System Details
2020
RFS Year
3
3 Fibre Pairs at Total Design Capacity of 36 Tbps
5000
Length (km)
100
Capacity per wavelength (Gbps)
36
Design Capacity (Tbps)
Owners
Djibouti Telecom, Somtel, Hormuud Telecom & Telkom Kenya as Landing Party in Kenya.
Region
Horn East Africa
Landing Points
Djibouti City (Djibouti). Bosaaso (Somalia). Mogadishu (Somalia) Mombasa (Kenya)
project description
Technical
. Proposed connection in Somalia (Bosaso, Mogadisho), Kenya (Mombasa) Over 5000 km of 3-fiber cables
paired with standard international protection (armoring, burial, etc.)
. Connection via BU-ROADM
. The initial technology based on Nx100G wavelength (10G client interface)
. Capacity Design supported by two pairs of fibers: a Total of 36 Terabits per Second
Commercial
. Consortium model
. Interconnection open to Djibouti and Mombassa
. 10G DWA interface access for Internet connectivity
Future potential

POTENTIAL ACCESS TO DARE1
Rwanda has the opportunity today to acquire a Direct Fiber between Dar Es Salam / Mombassa and Djibouti. From Djibouti, Rwanda can use existing or new cables, or even invest as a consortium member on Future cables

NETWORK IN TANZANIA AND ENCLAVE COUNTRIES
Tanzania has borders with Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique. Tanzania has developed optical terrestrial networks

DARE1 PROJECT STATUS
By 2028, the projected data traffic from East African countries will reach 80 Terabit per second. This request will require the construction of 5 to 6 submarine cables over the next 12 years. DARE1 Will be one of these cables that will handle safely this regional traffic to Data center available in Djibouti and extension to Europe, Asia, or USA through existing international cables.
LATEST NEWS ON DARE1
Internet : Le câble DARE-1 mis en service
Un nouveau câble sous-marin qui relie Djibouti, La Somalie et le kenya est maintenant actif après plus de 5 années de travail. Long de 4.900 km, il est équipé de la dernière génération en fibre optique. Le consortium à l’origine du projet regroupe Djibouti Telecom,...
Hormuud Telecom joins as new member and signatory of DARE1
10th March 2021 - Under the leadership of the Djibouti Ministry of Communications, Post and Telecommunications, Djibouti Telecom and Somtel have decided to include Hormuud Telecom as a new member and signatory of DARE1 Construction and Maintenance Agreement...
DARE1 Cable Lands at Final Stop
Today, Friday 6th March 2020, marks the landing of the DARE1 cable at it's final stop - the great Kenyan coastal city of Mombasa. Our team headed by Mohamed Ahmed (International Business Director) flew to Mombasa to take part in the ceremonial event hosted by our...
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