Summary Bullets:

• Vodafone Group will build two submarine cable systems, Thetis Express and Kardesa Cable systems, as it looks to further strengthen its global undersea network.
• Vodafone’s investment in both its terrestrial and subsea cable infrastructure validates its intention to remain a critical enabler of global connectivity in an AI-driven world.

With demand for data continuing to soar driven by AI, cloud, and other data-intensive services, the Vodafone Wholesale division unveiled plans to expand its global infrastructure as it looks to future-proof its network acknowledging that growth will depend on network resilience and scalability beyond today’s traffic patterns. Over recent months, the carrier has made multiple announcements to build two cable systems named Thetis Express and Kardesa. With the AI boom just starting, will Vodafone’s investment in its global network keep pace for future growth?

In October 2025, Vodafone Group announced that it had teamed up with Vodafone Ukraine to build the Kardesa Submarine cable, which will connect Bulgaria, Georgia, Turkey, and Ukraine. The high-capacity system in the Black Sea will create a modern digital corridor between Europe and Asia and will add over 500Tbps of internet capacity through the Black Sea region. The construction of the cable with compete with the Caucasus Cable, the only other cable that connects Bulgaria to Georgia in the Black Sea, with a limited network capacity of 12.6Tbps capacity. The Kardesa will bypass the heavily congested Red Sea, with cables frequently damaged due to shallow, busy shipping lanes.

Last week, Vodafone announced that it will build Thetis Express, a 340km cable system that will link the island of Crete with mainland Greece, adding a total capacity of up to 180Tbps. The cable will complement its terrestrial wholesale routes, providing customers with access to a wider range of wholesale interconnectivity services to and from Greece to the rest of Europe as well as Southeast Asia. Vodafone expects both cable systems to be ready for service in the H2 2027.

Vodafone Group operates one of the most extensive international networks in the industry with network capacity covering over 70 submarine cable systems worldwide. This scale gives the company credibility and the flexibility to route traffic efficiently, manage outages, and respond to shifting demand patterns. The addition of Kardesa and Thetis Express will further enhance this portfolio, add resilience, and enable the carrier to diversify away from traditional bottlenecks that can constrain performance as traffic volumes rise.

Vodafone’s approach is not limited to undersea networks. The company also continues to invest in terrestrial fiber, ensuring that high-capacity international links are matched by strong national and regional backhaul. Both terrestrial and subsea networks are becoming increasingly interdependent, and Vodafone’s strategy aims to optimize the entire connectivity chain.

With the adoption of AI adoption still in its infancy, the impact on network traffic is expected to be profound. By investing in its network assets now, Vodafone is positioning itself to support future growth rather than being reactive once constraints emerge. It’s estimated that in the next two years approximately 66 new subsea cables will come online in supporting the demand for continued data growth. This announcement validates Vodafone’s intention to remain a critical enabler of global connectivity in an AI-driven world.