Vodafone Group, Vodafone Ukraine to build Black Sea undersea cable system worth over EUR 100 mln

Vodafone Group and Vodafone Ukraine, the country's second-largest mobile operator, will begin construction of a new high-speed undersea cable system in the Black Sea, creating a digital corridor between Europe and Asia, the company announced in a press release on Monday.

The undersea fiber-optic network, called Kardesa, will connect Ukraine, Bulgaria, Georgia, and Turkey. The first cable landing is planned for Bulgaria in 2027, followed by landings in Türkiye, Georgia, and Ukraine.

According to First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov, the project budget exceeds EUR 100 million.

The operator added that the general contractor for the project will be Xtera, a company specializing in turnkey, high-performance submarine telecom solutions, which has designed, built, and commissioned advanced undersea cable systems in more than 60 countries worldwide.

"One of the key points of our Electronic Communications Development Strategy through 2030 is to build more international internet backbones to ensure a resilient internet in Ukraine," Fedorov said.

He noted that the new cable will provide the Black Sea region with an additional 500 Tbps of internet capacity.

"Submarine cables carry 97–98% of all international internet traffic, so this project is crucial for developing the region's entire digital ecosystem," Fedorov wrote.

The deputy prime minister added that the project will strengthen Ukraine's digital sovereignty and the resilience of its telecom infrastructure, attract telecom sector investments, provide fast and secure internet for Ukrainians, and establish Ukraine as a key data link between Europe and Asia, bypassing Russia.

Vodafone Ukraine has been part of NEQSOL Holding since December 2019.