On July 1, a cable emerged from the Atlantic Ocean in Swakopmund, a small coastal city in western Namibia. Mostly known as a seaside resort, Swakopmund is used to visitors. But the giant ship out at sea, the string of buoys, and a fleet of smaller vessels manned by workers in hard hats and fluorescent bibs was an arrival of a different kind.
Running for thousands of miles along the bottom of the sea, the cable's landing had been delayed for months by rough conditions and Covid-19. But now here it was, a couple of inches wide and already covered in sand. A welcome party stood on the beach and posed for photos before the cable continued inland. Equiano had finally arrived. Equiano is the latest subsea internet cable financed by Google.