Sparkle x Algerie Telecom: Italy-Algeria Submarine Cable Powers Sovereignty

A Dedicated Mediterranean Link Between Rome and Algiers

In July 2025, at the 6th Italy-Algeria Business Forum in Rome, two telecom operators signed an agreement that could reshape how Algeria connects to the rest of the world. Sparkle, TIM Group’s global operator and Italy’s leading international service provider, and Algerie Telecom, Algeria’s national incumbent, inked a Memorandum of Understanding for a dedicated submarine cable linking Italy and Algeria, alongside a sweeping package of digital transformation services.

The MoU was signed in the presence of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune — one of more than 40 bilateral agreements struck at a summit that drew over 250 Italian and 140 Algerian companies. While energy giant Eni captured headlines with a $1.3 billion Sonatrach deal, the Sparkle-Algerie Telecom cable may prove equally consequential for Algeria’s long-term economic future.

What the MoU Actually Covers

The agreement goes well beyond laying fiber on the seabed. Signed by Algerie Telecom CEO Adel Bentoumi and Sparkle Executive Director General Enrico Maria Bagnasco, the MoU covers five pillars:

1. A new dedicated submarine cable linking Algeria directly to Italy, providing a high-capacity route to Europe with ultra-low latency and full redundancy compared to existing infrastructure.
2. A dedicated European Point of Presence (PoP) for Algerie Telecom, giving the national operator a direct footprint in Europe for the first time.
3. Cybersecurity and cloud computing services, extending Sparkle’s enterprise portfolio to Algerie Telecom’s customer base.
4. Technical support for data center development, helping Algeria build facilities that meet international standards.
5. A learning and training platform covering cloud computing, networks, digital services, and cybersecurity.

“This agreement marks a significant step in strengthening digital ties between Europe and North Africa,” said Bagnasco. “We are proud to contribute to Algeria’s digital future by delivering modern infrastructure as well as innovative and secure solutions for fast and resilient international connectivity.”

Bentoumi framed the deal as route diversification: “The strategic partnership with Sparkle confirms the long-standing relationship between our two companies and reflects our shared commitment to innovation and excellence. This project will play a key role in diversifying our international routes and in meeting the increasing needs of our customers across Algeria.”

Why Algeria Needs Another Submarine Cable

Algeria is currently connected to the global internet through five submarine cables: SeaMeWe-4 (landing at Annaba), ALPAL-2 (via Palma de Mallorca to Algiers), ORVAL (connecting Oran and Algiers to Valencia, Spain), Med Cable Network, and a branch of the TE North/TGN-Eurasia system. Together, these deliver a total installed capacity of roughly 10.2 terabits per second, with used bandwidth sitting at approximately 5.39 Tbps.

Those numbers look comfortable on paper. But three structural vulnerabilities make the current setup fragile:

Geographic concentration. Most of Algeria’s submarine cables route through Spain or land at a limited number of coastal stations. A single seismic event or anchor drag in the western Mediterranean could disrupt multiple links simultaneously.

Transit dependency. Without a dedicated, sovereign link to a major European internet exchange, Algerian traffic often transits through third-party networks before reaching its destination. This adds latency, cost, and a layer of geopolitical risk that runs counter to Algeria’s stated digital sovereignty goals.

Demand trajectory. Internet subscriptions in Algeria continue to climb, and data-intensive services, from cloud computing and e-commerce to remote education and 5G backhaul, are straining existing capacity. The 400G WDM national backbone project launched by Algerie Telecom and Huawei in February 2025 will multiply domestic throughput, but that upgraded backbone needs equally robust international pipes to feed it.

The Sparkle cable addresses all three. A direct Italy-Algeria link diversifies routing away from the Iberian corridor, connects Algerie Telecom to Sparkle’s Sicily Hub in Palermo (one of the Mediterranean’s most important internet exchange points), and adds dedicated capacity on a route where Algeria currently has no sovereign fiber.

Sparkle’s Mediterranean Footprint: Why Italy Matters

Sparkle is not a random partner. The company manages over 600,000 km of fiber spanning Europe, Africa, the Middle East, the Americas, and Asia. Its Sicily Hub in Palermo sits at the crossroads of submarine cables crossing the Mediterranean, saving 15 to 35 milliseconds in latency for North African traffic compared to routing through Northern European exchanges.

Sparkle’s Mediterranean cable portfolio already includes BlueMed (connecting Italy, France, Greece, and Jordan with branches into Algeria, Tunisia, and others) and the forthcoming GreenMed (linking Italy to the Balkans and eastern Mediterranean, expected by late 2028). For Algeria, landing directly in this infrastructure means the shortest, lowest-latency path to European content providers, cloud platforms, and peering exchanges. The dedicated PoP included in the MoU gives Algerie Telecom direct peering capability on European soil for the first time.

The Mattei Plan Context: Digital Corridors as Foreign Policy

The deal fits squarely within Italy’s Mattei Plan for Africa, Meloni’s flagship initiative to reposition Italy as Africa’s primary European partner. The plan’s digital component rests on five pillars: digital infrastructure, digital public platforms, digital financial services, digital businesses, and digital skills. Submarine cables are the physical backbone, with Sparkle’s Blue and Raman systems (built with Google) already linking Italy to India via the Middle East. The Algeria cable extends this logic southward.

Meloni signaled the direction at the Rome summit: “We will continue working together to design and implement new energy and digital corridors between North Africa and Europe.” With bilateral trade at an estimated 12.9 billion euros and Italian direct investment at 8.5 billion euros, the digital corridor is designed to ensure the Italy-Algeria relationship extends beyond hydrocarbons.

Fitting Into Algeria’s Broader Infrastructure Push

The Sparkle cable is one piece of a much larger infrastructure modernization underway in Algeria. Key parallel developments include:

• 400G WDM backbone (Huawei): Launched February 2025, this project deploys 400 Gbps optical network technology across the national backbone for cloud, e-commerce, education, and 5G backhaul.
• Medusa submarine cable: This EU co-funded, 8,760 km system will connect ten Mediterranean countries including Algeria, with up to 480 Tbps total capacity. Phase one is scheduled for 2026.
• Africa-1 submarine cable: Algeria is part of this consortium alongside Mobily, e&, G42, and Telecom Egypt, also expected in service in 2026.
• National Cybersecurity Strategy 2025-2029: Approved in late 2025, mandating dedicated cybersecurity units across government and establishing a sovereign network infrastructure framework.
• 500+ digital transformation projects spanning e-government, digital economy, and infrastructure modernization across 2025-2026.

The Sparkle cable’s value-added services — cybersecurity, cloud, and data center support — dovetail directly with these initiatives, potentially linking Algeria’s sovereign infrastructure to European-standard frameworks.

What Comes Next

The MoU is a framework agreement, not a construction contract. Engineering surveys, regulatory approvals, route planning, and financing still lie ahead. Submarine cable projects of this nature typically take two to four years from agreement to service, placing a realistic operational date between 2027 and 2029. Italy’s Mattei Plan commitment, Sparkle’s Mediterranean cable-laying experience, and Algeria’s demonstrated investment appetite all suggest the timeline could compress.

The more consequential question is what the completed cable enables. With a dedicated Italy link, a 400G domestic backbone, participation in Medusa and Africa-1, and Sparkle’s cybersecurity and cloud expertise layered on top, Algeria would hold the infrastructure foundation for genuine digital sovereignty: the ability to control how its data flows, where it is processed, and who has access to it.

For a country that has explicitly made digital sovereignty a national priority, that is not a technical upgrade. It is a strategic transformation.

Sources & Further Reading

• Sparkle and Algerie Telecom Sign a Memorandum of Understanding for New Subsea Cable Linking Italy and Algeria — Sparkle Official Press Release
• Sparkle and Algerie Telecom Sign MoU to Build Subsea Cable Linking Italy and Algeria — TechAfrica News
• Algeria Telecom Partners with Huawei to Deliver 400G WDM National Backbone Network — Huawei
• Italy-Algeria Business Forum — Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• Algeria Announces New Undersea Cable Link to Meet Soaring Data Demand — Ecofin Agency
• Algerie Telecom and Sparkle Sign MoU Covering Several Projects — Algerie Telecom Official
• Italy and Algeria Boost Cooperation With New Security and Business Deals — US News
• Sparkle Sicily Hub — Sparkle Infrastructure