Ethiopia, Djibouti and Sudan are building another route for internet traffic

Ethiopia, Djibouti and Sudan are working on a fibre connection that could give telecom operators another way to move internet traffic across the region. The project, called the Horizon Fibre Initiative, is being developed by Ethio Telecom, Djibouti Telecom and Sudatel Group. The planned route will run from Djibouti, through Ethiopia, to Port Sudan, connecting the cable landing points on either side. The three companies are now working with potential customers and technology companies on what the network will need before it can move into commercial operation. That includes companies such as Google, Meta, Microsoft, AWS, Airtel Africa, Bayobab, WIOCC, Nokia and Ciena.

Why another fibre route matters

A lot of Africa's international internet traffic comes through submarine cables. That works well when the cables are operating normally. The problem comes when a cable is damaged. When that happens, traffic has to be moved through other cables and networks. In countries with limited international routes, there may not be many alternatives. The result can be slower connections and more pressure on the networks that remain available. A land based fibre route through Ethiopia gives operators another option. It does not mean submarine cables become less important. It means there is another route available when traffic needs to be moved around a problem.

Djibouti already handles a lot of international traffic

Djibouti has become an important entry point for international connectivity in the Horn of Africa because of the number of submarine cables landing there. Ethiopia is next door and has a large and growing market for mobile and internet services. Sudan gives the route access to the Red Sea and international networks further north. Horizon brings these three pieces together. For telecom operators, that could mean another route for moving traffic between international cable systems and networks inside the region.

Companies need reliable networks too

This is not only about mobile phone users. Banks, cloud companies, data centres and large businesses all depend on international connectivity to move information between offices, customers and servers. For a business operating in Ethiopia, for example, a network problem somewhere along its international connection can affect everything from cloud applications to payments and communications. Having another route does not prevent those problems, but it gives operators somewhere else to send traffic. For large companies, that kind of backup can be worth paying for.

There is also money in carrying other people's traffic

Ethiopia could benefit in another way. Because the proposed route passes through the country, Ethiopian infrastructure could be used to carry traffic between Djibouti and Sudan. That gives Ethio Telecom another service to sell to telecom operators, carriers and large technology companies. The more traffic that moves through the network, the more valuable that infrastructure becomes. But that will depend on the price of capacity and whether enough companies decide to use the route.

The project is now getting closer to the commercial stage

Horizon has been in development since an earlier agreement between the three operators in 2024. The companies signed a strategic agreement in February 2026. This week's meeting in Addis Ababa focused on the practical side of the project, including technical requirements and what potential customers would need from the network. That is where the project stands now. The fibre still has to be built, customers have to be signed up and the commercial model has to work. If it gets there, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Sudan will have another fibre connection linking the Red Sea with one of Africa's biggest internet markets. For the companies using these networks, the value may be quite simple: another route when the usual route is not enough.