Niger and Algeria have launched a fiber-optic link connecting their telecommunications networks, opening a new high-capacity digital corridor across the Sahara.
The connection was launched on 6 October at Assamaka, near the countries’ border, during a ceremony attended by Niger’s Communication Minister Hamani Kargné and Algeria’s Post and Telecommunications Minister Sidi-Ali Zerrouki, according to the state-run Agence Nigérienne de Presse.
The completed section links In Guezzam in southern Algeria with the Arlit-Agadez area in northern Niger. It has an initial transmission capacity of 100 gigabits per second, and uses modern transmission technology and can be expanded as demand increases.
The Nigerien minister described the project as an example of practical South-South cooperation, saying that it would help connect communities, government institutions and businesses to more reliable and affordable telecommunications services.
The link forms part of the wider Trans-Saharan Fiber Optic Backbone, a regional initiative involving Algeria, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Mali and Mauritania. Niger plans to extend the network toward Burkina Faso and Benin.
The project is intended to support digital-economy development, improve regional connectivity and reduce disparities in access to communications infrastructure. It also includes the development of a national data center in Niger. Officials said the new connection could facilitate cross-border data flows, digital public services and economic exchanges.
