Tunisie Télécom partners with Medusa cable for network boostTunisie Télécom partners with Medusa cable for network boost

In preparation for its 5G rollout, Tunisie Télécom has partnered with the Medusa Submarine Cable System.

The Medusa submarine fiber-optic system connects the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic and the Red Sea.

The agreement will establish a dedicated 20Tbit/s fiber-optic link between Bizerte, Tunisia and Marseille, France.

Deployment in the western Mediterranean is scheduled for during 2025, with completion anticipated in early 2026.

Tunisian Minister of Communication Technologies Sofiene Hemissi praised the operator's efforts to strengthen telecommunications infrastructure and provide connectivity to all citizens across the country's regions. 

Hemissi highlighted how this initiative enhances Tunisia's digital sovereignty and improves its regional and international ranking in the digital sector.

Spanning over 8,700 km, Medusa links the Mediterranean to the Atlantic Ocean and the Red Sea, establishing a new corridor for global data traffic.

This infrastructure will complement Tunisia's existing submarine cable links, PEACE, SeaMeWE-4, Didon, and the Hannibal system.

"By connecting our fiber-optic infrastructure to this Mediterranean system, Tunisie Télécom will provide more innovative and secure solutions to better meet customer expectations while contributing to the development of Tunisia's digital ecosystem,” said Tunisie Télécom Chairman and CEO Lassâad Ben Dhiab.

Related:Tunisia calls for tenders to provide 5G

Medusa and AFR-IX telecom CEO Norman Albi said the partnership strengthens Tunisia's connection to Europe and supports the creation of new, high-capacity routes across the Mediterranean to ensure diversity, security, and scalability for operators and businesses in the region.

Deal to fast-track Tunisia's 5G rollout

This deal comes a few weeks after Tunisia announced that 5G services would be rolled out by the middle of February 2025.

In July 2024, the Tunisian Ministry of Communication Technologies called for tenders to award 5G operating licenses. The Ministry said Tunisie Télécom and Ooredoo Tunisie met all technical and administrative criteria and were set to launch their 5G services.

Tunisie Télécom and Ooredoo Tunisie have met all technical and administrative criteria and are set to launch their 5G services in the country this month. (Source: Image by Freepik)

The approval followed a formal agreement signed between the Ministry and telecom representatives on November 30, 2024. This decision aligns with a structured roadmap established during a ministerial council meeting in June 2024, which led to a specialized licensing committee.

As part of the roadmap, Tunisian telecom operators will receive 5 MHz of Time Division Duplex (TDD) spectrum in the 700MHz band and 100 MHz (TDD) in the 3.5GHz band.

Additionally, the ministry said operators can request three blocks of 20MHz spectrum.

Further 5G frequency bands will be announced in later deployment phases, and licenses will be valid for 15 years.

Tunisia's mobile ecosystem

Statistics from market research company Omdia, a sister company of Connecting Africa, show that Tunisia has three mobile telecommunications network operators that operate 2G, 3G and 4G networks.

Omdia reports that Ooredoo Tunisie had an estimated 6.4 million mobile subscribers at the end of the fourth quarter of 2024 and was the largest telco in the country.

Orange Tunisie had over 4.6 million users, while Tunisie Télécom had 4.3 million mobile subscribers over the same period.