Orange has welcomed the first European landing of the Medusa Submarine Cable in Marseille, reinforcing the city’s role as a Mediterranean digital hub. The 1,050-km cable connects Marseille to Bizerte, Tunisia, meeting growing bandwidth demand in the region and strengthening digital links across the Mediterranean.
Orange’s fully redundant fiber network provides secure, direct connections to major European hubs like Paris, London, and Frankfurt, as well as international networks spanning Asia, Africa, and the Americas. The operation was carried out with a focus on environmental protection, using horizontal directional drilling to bypass Posidonia meadows and the Calanques National Park, while the cable-laying vessel, Sophie Germain, minimized ecological impact.
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Co-financed by the European Union under the Connecting Europe Facility, the project supports the Global Gateway strategy to enhance Europe-Africa digital ties, promote digital transition, and reduce the digital divide.
Michaël Trabbia, CEO of Orange Wholesale, commented:
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 is managed end-to-end by Orange, with subsidiaries Elettra Tlc and Orange Marine handling engineering, installation, and maintenance. This project is part of Orange’s broader commitment to international connectivity, with the company involved in over 40 submarine cables spanning nearly 450,000 km, positioning it as a key player in the future of global digital infrastructure.
With this milestone, Marseille continues to strengthen its reputation as a central hub for data traffic, attracting investment, and supporting socio-economic development across the Mediterranean and beyond.
