Algeria's Minister of Post and Telecommunications, Sid Ali Zerrouki, and Niger's Minister of Communication and New Information Technologies, Hamani Kargné, co-presided over the official launch of a trans-Saharan fiber-optic link at Assamaka on 6 October 2026, connecting In Guezzam in Algeria to the Arlit-Agadez axis in Niger with an initial capacity of 100 Gbps. The ceremony was attended by Algeria's ambassador to Niger, the governor of Agadez, and officials from both countries' telecom operators, Algérie Télécom and Niger Télécom, which jointly built the link.
Zerrouki said the choice of Assamaka, near In Guezzam, carried special significance, noting the project falls under the Trans-Saharan Fiber Optic Backbone Liaison Committee, which groups six African countries: Algeria, Mali, Niger, Mauritania, Nigeria and Chad. He described the link as a step toward strengthening digital connectivity and supporting the digital economy in the Sahel region, and said the project draws inspiration from the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD). The broader backbone initiative has a long history: EU and African Development Bank financing — €29 million of a €79 million budget — supported Chad's 1,510-km segment as early as 2018.
The link is designed with modular capacity for future expansion as regional data needs grow. Algeria has already completed 2,548 km of fiber on its own territory between Algiers and In Guezzam, plus a secondary link toward Tindouf near the Mauritanian border, as part of an ambition to position Algeria as a regional transit point toward international submarine cables.
The launch comes amid a broader pattern of Algerian re-engagement with Niger and other Alliance of Sahel States members following a 2025 diplomatic rupture triggered when Algeria said it downed a Malian drone near Tinzaouatène, prompting Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso to recall their ambassadors from Algiers. Niger and Algeria restored ambassadors in February 2026, followed by a working visit to Algiers by Niger's transitional president, General Abdourahamane Tiani, and a mixed commission held in Niamey in March. Algeria donated four military helicopters to Niger's armed forces on 9 August 2026, and after a coup attempt against Tiani's government on 28-29 August 2026, deployed four Su-30 fighter jets and refueling and transport aircraft to Niamey — Algeria's first overseas military intervention since 1967. Algeria separately normalized relations with Mali in July 2026, reopening airspace and returning ambassadors after a 15-month rupture stemming from the same drone incident. Commentators have framed the fiber link as part of this wider push by Algiers to rebuild influence in the Sahel, rather than a purely technical milestone.
Available reporting documents the ministerial launch ceremony but does not include post-launch operational data on actual traffic volumes or internet service provider onboarding timelines, and security arrangements for protecting the line through the desert corridor have not been detailed publicly.