Lebanon TechOrange Marine lands Cadmos 2 cable in Okaibe to link Lebanon with Cyprus
A new undersea connection to Cyprus gives Lebanon a backup path for international internet traffic after years of relying on a single active line.
Lebanon TechIn brief: Orange Marine has landed the Cadmos 2 submarine cable to link Lebanon with Cyprus. The project establishes Lebanon's first new international undersea connection since 2010, aiming to expand international internet capacity, attract foreign investment in data centres and provide network redundancy.
The vessel Sophie Germain landed the Cadmos 2 submarine cable yesterday at Okaibe in Keserwan, Strong Republic bloc Member of Parliament (MP) Shawki Dakash said. After about three years of work on the project during economic and regional crises, the line was connected to a junction chamber under the beach sand.
Landing at Okaibe
Orange Marine operates the cable ship, which brought the line ashore on the Keserwan coast to prepare the link between Lebanon and Cyprus. It is the first new international undersea cable to reach Lebanon since 2010. Dakash thanked Minister of Telecommunications Charles Hage, Dr Imad Abi Rached and Engineer Anthony Azar for their work to modernise the national network.
In a statement published by El Siyasa, Dakash said: "From Cadmos the First, who carried the alphabet to the world, to Cadmos 2, which carries Lebanon into a new era of digital communication, our shores remain a bridge connecting Lebanon to the world."
Network backup and regional geography
Information and communications technology (ICT) expert Amer Tabsh told LebTalks that the landing's main benefit is national security through a backup connection. Lebanon previously relied on a single operational international cable, IMEWE. The older Cadmos 1 line, built in 1995, passed its operational lifespan many years ago.
Tabsh said Lebanon would lose internet access completely if any technical fault hit the single active cable or the data centre operating it. The backup line protects internet continuity during outages. It also gives greater flexibility in managing undersea infrastructure alongside newer competitors such as the Starlink network.
He said Lebanon needs a strategy for submarine cables that uses its geographic position between the Gulf, the eastern Mediterranean and Europe. Cyprus serves as a European gateway for Lebanon, Syria, Palestine and Egypt, while Lebanon can connect Syria, Jordan and Gulf states to Europe.
Economic impact and political delays
According to Tabsh, the new link will raise internet speeds, expand international capacities and support high-speed networks for schools, universities, factories and businesses. "No major company like Google would come to invest in a data centre in Lebanon while there is only a single cable exposed to stopping at any moment when any fault occurs," Tabsh said to LebTalks.
He said weak telecommunications and electricity infrastructure has pushed computer engineering graduates to leave for jobs in Dubai and other foreign markets. Lebanese professionals hold senior management roles at global technology companies and sold software and internet services to Jordan, Syria and neighbouring countries during the 1990s.
Tabsh said the project was meant to start before Lebanon's financial crisis, but political disputes and claims over espionage and Israeli breaches caused delays. LebTalks reported that Parliamentary Telecommunications Committee head Ibrahim Moussawi had warned against telecommunications measures that violated Hezbollah's orders. Tabsh said the party monopolised sector decisions for years and tried to block Starlink, adding that it cannot politically stop the ministry now and would destroy the economy if it tried to block the projects by force.
What happens next
Alongside the Cadmos 2 link, the ministry has approved data centre projects to align Lebanon with countries across Africa and Asia. Tabsh said the rollout does not target any political group, but aims to break monopolies, attract foreign capital and revive the digital economy. Practical benefits from the new cable are expected to begin appearing in 2027, with operational applications taking shape by the middle of that year.
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