Daraja: Submarine Cable Linking Kenya and Oman
The Daraja submarine cable is a 4,108 km fiber-optic system connecting
Nyali in Kenya to
Salalah in Oman. Owned jointly by Meta and Safaricom, the cable is listed as in service, with GeoCables recording its ready-for-service (RFS) year as 2026. However, public details about its design capacity, fiber pairs, supplier, and technology have not been disclosed, leaving significant gaps in understanding its full technical specifications.
What makes Daraja particularly interesting is its role in bridging East Africa with the Middle East, providing potential enhancements to regional connectivity. However, the lack of publicly disclosed technical details and the discrepancy between theoretical latency calculations and live measurements highlight uncertainties in its performance and broader impact.
Quick facts
| Cable name | Daraja |
| Length (km) | 4,108 |
| Ready-for-service year | 2026 (GeoCables database) |
| Owners | Meta, Safaricom |
| Status | In service |
| Design capacity | Not disclosed |
| Fiber pairs | Not disclosed |
| Supplier | Not disclosed |
| Technology | Not disclosed |
| Landing points | Nyali (Kenya), Salalah (Oman) |
Route
The Daraja cable spans the Indian Ocean, connecting Nyali, a coastal area near Mombasa in Kenya, to Salalah, a port city in Oman. Nyali is already a hub for submarine connectivity, hosting the
Lower Indian Ocean Network 2 (LION2) cable. Salalah is a more prominent landing site, serving as a junction for several major cables, including
2Africa,
Gulf2Africa (G2A),
India Europe Xpress (IEX),
Oman Australia Cable (OAC), and
Raman. This geographical corridor is strategic for linking East Africa to the Middle East and beyond, facilitating international data traffic.
Why it was built and what it carries
Daraja was likely built to enhance connectivity between East Africa and the Middle East, addressing growing demand for broadband services and international data exchange. As a joint venture between Meta and Safaricom, the cable may also serve their strategic interests in expanding digital infrastructure in the region. While specific details about its data-carrying capacity remain undisclosed, its integration into the existing network of submarine cables at Salalah suggests it plays a role in regional and intercontinental connectivity.
History: what can be established
GeoCables records Daraja's ready-for-service year as 2026, but public sources do not provide further verification of this timeline. If industry sources suggest an alternative RFS year, it would point to either delays in deployment or discrepancies in documentation. As of now, the cable is listed as in service, but the absence of detailed historical records makes it difficult to construct a comprehensive timeline of its development and operational milestones.
Capacity and technology
Publicly available information does not disclose Daraja's design capacity, fiber pair count, supplier, or specific technology. Without operator documentation, attributing these parameters would be speculative. Industry trends suggest that modern submarine cables typically deploy advanced wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) technologies to maximize capacity, but whether Daraja follows this standard remains unknown.
Latency: the physics
Theoretical calculations based on the cable's length of 4,108 km yield a one-way light propagation latency of approximately 20.1 milliseconds, with a round-trip time (RTT) floor of 40.3 milliseconds. However, live measurements conducted by GeoCables probes show significantly higher RTTs between Nyali and Salalah, with a minimum of 216.6 ms and an average of 289.1 ms over 134 checks. This discrepancy arises from the inclusion of land tails, terminal equipment delays, and internet routing inefficiencies in the live measurements, which capture the full path rather than the cable's wet segment alone.
Redundancy: what happens if it breaks
If Daraja experiences a fault, redundancy is available through other cables landing at Nyali and Salalah. Nyali hosts the LION2 cable, while Salalah is connected to multiple systems, including 2Africa, Gulf2Africa (G2A), India Europe Xpress (IEX), Oman Australia Cable (OAC), and Raman. Repairing a submarine cable typically involves deploying specialized cable ships equipped with remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) to locate, retrieve, and repair the damaged segment. While redundancy mitigates the impact of outages, repair times can vary depending on the location and severity of the fault.
Bottom line
- Daraja is a 4,108 km submarine cable connecting Kenya and Oman.
- Owned by Meta and Safaricom, it is listed as in service with an RFS year of 2026.
- Publicly disclosed details about its design capacity, fiber pairs, supplier, and technology are absent.
- Theoretical latency calculations differ significantly from live internet path measurements.
- Redundancy is provided by other cables at Nyali and Salalah, but repair logistics remain standard for the industry.