Orange hosts the Medusa submarine cable at its infrastructure in Marseille for its first landing

With the arrival of this new submarine cable, Orange reaffirms its commitment to international connectivity and digital dynamism in the Mediterranean through the continued development of its infrastructure in Marseille.

Thanks to its fully redundant fiber optic infrastructure, Orange will provide its customers with simple, secure and direct access to all the city’s data centers, which are now interconnected. Orange thus enhances the resilience of access and enables direct links to major European hubs such as Paris, London or Frankfurt, as well as the rest of the world (Asia, Africa, Americas).

This turnkey solution strengthens Marseille’s position as a global interconnection hub. All aspects of the cable are fully managed by Orange, including from a technical, regulatory, security and environmental point of view.

An additional link for Mediterranean connectivity

As the Medusa system’s first landing in Europe, this new cable is part of the ongoing development of submarine networks connecting both sides of the Mediterranean. As part of this project, the cable will connect Marseille to Bizerte in Tunisia (project Via Tunisia announced by Orange in April 2023). , This 1,050 km-long segment will meet growing needs for bandwidth in the region.

A project supported by the European Union

The Marseille-Bizerte segment benefits from co-financing by the European Union through the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF). Three pairs of fiber belonging to Orange are supported within the framework of the European Global Gateway strategy, aimed at strengthening connections between Europe and Africa, supporting digital transition, and reducing the digital divide.

Michael Trabbia, CEO of Orange Wholesale, states:
We are proud to bring our leadership and expertise to the Medusa cable, hosted within our secure infrastructure in Marseille, with laying operations carried out by our cable ships, Teliri and Sophie Germain. Our infrastructure offers a key link in Mediterranean basin connectivity, ensuring digital resilience and supporting socio-economic development. With this landing, Orange enhances Europe’s digital sovereignty and positions Marseille as a global digital hub, now hosting the arrival of 17 submarine cables connected worldwide"

The Medusa cable provider is Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN). Elettra Tlc, a subsidiary of Orange and the project coordinator, managed the operation. Orange Marine’s cable ship Sophie Germain was tasked with the cable landing operations in Marseille.

An environmentally respectful approach

To protect local ecosystems, the landing operation was conducted via horizontal directional drilling, respecting regional environmental objectives, including bypassing Posidonia meadows and the Calanques park.

The cable laying was carried out by the Sophie Germain, a state-of-the-art, low environmental impact cable ship.

Orange, a key player in global connectivity

As a major player in international connectivity and submarine cables, Orange continues to invest significantly in tomorrow’s digital infrastructure. The Group is involved in over 40 submarine cables, representing nearly 450,000 km of networks worldwide.

Its subsidiaries Elettra Tlc and Orange Marine, specialized in cable ships, handle engineering, installation and maintenance of these cables (telecommunications, energy, or hybrid), ensuring Orange’s complete control over the value chain, from design to operation.

For more information, visit elettratlc.it and marine.orange.com

The link to download the photos : Atterrissement Medusa / Contenus photos & vidéo