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Benghazi launches Ozone telecom group as Medusa submarine cable lands

Benghazi launches Ozone telecom group as Medusa submarine cable lands

New Capabilities

O3 plans a 16,000km fibre network and 5G in 2027, with Medusa's second Libyan landing headed for Tripoli

October 20th, 2026: Medusa completes Benghazi shore end

Overview

Updated Oct 28

Ozone Group, known as O3, held its launch ceremony in Benghazi on October 17, with eastern Libya's prime minister and the head of its reconstruction fund attending. The same event announced that the Medusa submarine cable had reached the city, the first of two planned Libyan landings. Days later, the cable's shore-end section in Benghazi was reported complete, but the offshore link that would bring it into service has no date.

O3 says it will run a 5G pilot by the end of 2026 and sell commercial service from the second quarter of 2027, alongside a national fibre network and a Tier III data centre. Tripoli's communications authority disputes the group's licence. O3 says Medusa's second Libyan landing, in Tripoli, is planned for the end of 2027. Libyan state news did not confirm that date.

Why it matters

If Ozone's buildout succeeds, it ends Libya's state telecom monopoly and turns Benghazi into a regional internet hub for six African countries.

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Key Indicators

20 Tbit/s
Capacity per fibre pair
Design capacity of each of up to 24 fibre pairs on the Medusa cable, per the cable operator.
16,000 km
Planned fibre-optic network
Announced buildout; O3's project fact sheet describes the national fibre and DWDM network as roughly 12,000-13,000 km.
3,200
Planned cell sites
O3 Mobile's planned 4G and 5G sites, sized for more than 3.2 million users.
8,700+ km
Medusa cable length
Runs across the Mediterranean linking Europe and North Africa, with two planned Libyan landings.
2
Libya landing points
Benghazi landed first; a Tripoli landing is planned next.

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People Involved

Faisal Gergab
Faisal Gergab
Chairman, Ozone Group
Leading O3's rollout; announced the Medusa landing in Benghazi
 Belqasem Haftar
Belqasem Haftar
Director General, Libya Development and Reconstruction Fund
Active, key backer of Ozone
OH
Osama Hamad
Prime Minister, eastern Libyan government
Active, head of Benghazi-based administration
SB
Saqr Boujuwari
Chairman, Benghazi Municipal Council
Active
NA
Norman Albi
CEO, Medusa Submarine Cable System
Chief executive of Medusa; no public statement on the Benghazi landing found in reviewed reports

Organizations Involved

Ozon
Ozon
E-commerce company
Operating; launched in Benghazi October 17, 2026; licence disputed by Tripoli

Benghazi-based telecom and technology group planning mobile, fibre, data-centre and payment services, licensed by Libya's eastern government.
Medusa Submarine Cable System
Medusa Submarine Cable System
Submarine cable operator
Benghazi shore end completed (reported Oct 2026); offshore connection not yet dated; Tripoli landing planned

Submarine cable running more than 8,700 km across the Mediterranean, with up to 24 fibre pairs and two planned Libyan landings.
LU
Libyan United International for Telecommunication and Technology (LUIC)
Data service provider
Partner in Medusa landing agreement

North African data service provider that signed the agreement to bring Medusa to Libya's coast.

Timeline

November 2023 October 2026

5 events Latest: October 20th, 2026 · 3 weeks ago
Tap a bar to jump to that date

  1. Medusa completes Benghazi shore end

    Latest Infrastructure

    TechAfrica News reported that Medusa finished the pre-laid shore-end work in Benghazi. The offshore connection is the next phase, with no date given.

  2. Ozone Group launches, Medusa cable reaches Benghazi

    Launch

    O3 held its launch ceremony in Benghazi with Prime Minister Hamad and reconstruction-fund head Belqasem Haftar present, announcing the cable's first Libyan landing.

  3. O3 publishes project fact sheet with network and data-centre targets

    Announcement

    The fact sheet sets out a national fibre and DWDM network of roughly 12,000-13,000 km, a Tier III data centre in Benghazi with more than 160 racks, and a 5G pilot by the end of 2026.

  4. O3 Group secures license from eastern Libyan government

    Regulatory

    Ozone Group obtained its operating license, facing objections from Tripoli's communications authority.

  5. LUIC and Medusa sign Libya landing deal

    Agreement

    Libyan United International signed an agreement to land the Medusa cable in Tripoli and Benghazi.

Scenarios

1

O3 launches commercial 5G on schedule in 2027

Possible Resolves by Q2 2027

Discussed by: Ozone Group leadership, eastern Libyan government officials

Ozone runs its pilot network by the end of 2026 per plan, then scales to commercial 5G in the second quarter of 2027. The licensing dispute with Tripoli remains unresolved but does not stop the eastern rollout, and prices drop as planned competition materializes.

2

Tripoli licensing dispute confines Ozone to eastern Libya

Likely Resolves by End of 2027

Discussed by: akhbarlibya24, telecom analysts tracking Libya's regulatory split

The Tripoli-based General Communications Authority claims exclusive jurisdiction over national licences and blocks Ozone from operating in western areas. The cable lands but the retail market remains divided along political lines, limiting Ozone's subscriber base to eastern cities.

3

Benghazi becomes a wholesale bandwidth hub for landlocked states

Possible Resolves by Q2 2028

Discussed by: Faisal Gergab, Benghazi municipal officials

Regardless of domestic market share, the cable's 20 Tbit/s capacity makes Benghazi a transit point. Chadian, Nigerien, and Malian operators sign capacity agreements, generating wholesale revenue even if retail competition stalls at home.

Historical Context

2 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

July 2009

SEACOM cable lands in East Africa (July 2009)

SEACOM's 17,000km submarine cable landed in Mombasa, Kenya, ending East Africa's dependence on satellite internet. A single megabit per second cost thousands of dollars monthly before the landing; prices fell roughly 90 percent within a year.

Then

Internet prices collapsed and speeds jumped across Kenya, Tanzania, and Mozambique. Businesses and universities gained reliable connectivity for the first time.

Now

The cable helped incubate Kenya's mobile-money sector and its 'Silicon Savannah' software industry, which now exports services globally.

Why this matters now

Like Medusa in Benghazi, a single cable redirected the economics of connectivity for an entire region and triggered a local technology ecosystem.

2012

West African cable buildout breaks SAT-3 monopoly (2012)

A single monopoly cable, SAT-3, had controlled West African bandwidth since 2002, keeping prices high and capacity scarce. When the ACE and WACS cables landed in 2012, capacity multiplied and bandwidth costs dropped sharply.

Then

Bandwidth prices in Nigeria and Ghana fell by over 90 percent, and service quality improved dramatically.

Now

Lower connectivity costs fueled the growth of technology hubs in Lagos and Accra, making West Africa a competitive outsourcing destination.

Why this matters now

Medusa plays the same role for Libya, entering a market dominated by a state monopoly and offering the same price-competition dynamic SAT-3's challengers brought to West Africa.

Sources

(20)
+14
Libya Update Almarsad Alwasat Jarayid Agenzia Nova Almarsad Akhbar Libya 24 Medusa Submarine Cable System Alsa'a 24 Libyan News Agency TechAfrica News Alwasat Libyan Technology Foundation CorValid Telecom Ramblings Libya Technology Update Alsa'a 24 Jarayid Almarsad Agenzia Nova