Vodafone is building the underwater cable Kardesa: how the internet in Ukraine will change.

According to inkorr.com: Vodafone Group together with Vodafone Ukraine intends to build the underwater cable system Kardesa across the Black Sea, as reported by 'Glavkom' citing the Ministry of Digital Transformation.

Connections between countries

This line will connect Ukraine, Bulgaria, Turkey, and Georgia, and in the future, it will become part of a network stretching to Asian countries. The new connection will provide independent communication between Black Sea region countries and reduce dependence on routes passing through Russia.

Technical specifications

The project is being implemented with the participation of the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine. The Kardesa system will provide a capacity of up to 500 Tbps, which will allow effective handling of traffic from 5G technology, artificial intelligence, and streaming services. The total cost of the project will exceed 100 million euros.

Start of construction

The construction of the first section is set to begin in 2027 in Bulgaria. The part of the project concerning Ukraine will be implemented only in internationally recognized safe zones.

5G in Ukraine

According to information, the next-generation mobile internet 5G will begin testing in the fall of 2025 in three cities: Lviv, Kharkiv, and Borodyanka. Large-scale coverage of all regions of the country is planned no earlier than 2030.

The full launch of 5G technology in Ukraine is delayed until the end of the martial law phase. For now, testing will allow for evaluating the network's performance and preparing the groundwork for future expansion.

It is worth noting that Russians are increasingly feeling the consequences of the actions of the authorities, who, trying to protect themselves from attacks by Ukrainian drones, are massively shutting down the internet.

Thus, Vodafone together with its Ukrainian branch plans to implement the underwater cable project Kardesa across the Black Sea. This infrastructure will provide new communication opportunities between Black Sea region countries and Asia, reducing dependence on routes through Russia. The project has powerful capacity and meets modern technological requirements.