A strategic corridor, not just a cable
At Assamaka, a dusty outpost on the edge of the Sahara, Algeria and Niger have formally activated their cross-border fiber optic link. The ceremony marks the completion of years of construction under the Trans-Saharan Fiber Optic Backbone (DTS), a regional initiative backed by the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). But beyond the high-speed promises, the project reveals a more complex story: access to international bandwidth, reduced digital dependence, potential new revenue streams for operators, and for Algiers, a calculated bid to extend its strategic influence south of its borders. In a Niger grappling with jihadist expansion, protecting this new infrastructure will be a challenge in itself.
Assamaka: a symbol with a purpose
The location was no accident. On October 6, 2026, telecom ministers from both countries presided over the official launch at Assamaka, in the Agadez region on the Algeria-Niger border. The event gave political weight to a project designed to eventually connect Algeria, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Mali, and Mauritania. Yet the financial narrative is more layered than a simple bilateral deal.
Inside the financing: €43 million for Niger’s component
Public documents do not show a single contract where Niamey pays Algiers tens or hundreds of millions of euros. Instead, the funding architecture is a patchwork. According to the African Development Bank (AfDB), Niger’s portion of the DTS is valued at around €43 million. This covers 1,031 kilometers of fiber across five main routes, a Tier III national data center, and an 88-kilometer local loop. In March 2026, the project coordinator cited overall funding exceeding 30 billion CFA francs, including roughly 16 billion in credit, 12.76 billion in grants, and 2.17 billion in national counterpart funds. Crucially, the €43 million is Niger’s project component, not a payment to Algeria for the link. The AfDB’s multinational project, approved in 2016, blended the African Development Fund, European co-financing, and state contributions, with an initial valuation of 62.262 million units of account. In other words, no public figure supports claims that Algeria ‘earns’ X billion and Niger Y billion from the inauguration.
What Niger actually gains
Niger is the primary beneficiary. As a landlocked country, it relies on international connections routed through neighboring states. The new backbone offers an additional path to the global internet, especially via Algeria. The benefit is not just the fiber itself but access to international capacity. Algeria holds significant bandwidth through its submarine cables, and for years its authorities have sought to connect landlocked Sahelian nations. For Niamey, this could mean more internet capacity, better service quality, reduced reliance on existing routes, greater competition among capacity providers, new possibilities for digital public services, growth in e-commerce and mobile financial services, and improved connectivity for northern regions. The project also aims to link Niger more closely not only to Algeria but also to Nigeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, and Chad. Yet the exact savings for the Nigerien state or additional annual revenues have not been published. That absence is worth noting in any serious analysis.
Algeria’s calculus: soft power and transit revenue
For Algiers, the stake is geopolitical. Algeria has not just built infrastructure up to its border; it has spent years positioning itself as a digital gateway to the Sahel. Algerian officials say approximately 2,548 kilometers of fiber are already completed between Algiers and In Guezzam on the Nigerien border, with figures reaching 2,600 kilometers in 2024. The logic is straightforward: route Sahelian digital traffic toward Algerian international infrastructure. The more Niger—and eventually other Sahelian states—uses Algerian capacity, the stronger Algiers’ position as a regional digital hub. A concrete sign came in September 2026, when Algérie Télécom signed an agreement with Niger Télécom to donate transmission equipment linking In Guezzam and Agadez, with an initial capacity of 100 gigabits. This shows Algeria is not just building its share of the backbone but also helping operate and reinforce Niger’s infrastructure. The return may not be immediate cash; it can be commercial, technological, diplomatic, and strategic.
Beyond telecom: a piece of a larger puzzle
Algeria’s ambition extends far beyond fiber. The government presents the DTS as a way to make the country a regional connectivity hub and offers landlocked Sahelian states access to its international capacity linked to submarine cables. This strategy unfolds amid Algeria’s repositioning in the Sahel. In March 2026, Algiers and Niamey reaffirmed their strategic partnership, prioritizing security coordination and infrastructure projects: the trans-Saharan road, fiber optic cable, and trans-Saharan gas pipeline. The cable is one piece of a much larger puzzle. For Algiers, strengthening economic and digital ties with Niamey helps consolidate influence in a region where Russia, Turkey, Gulf states, China, and Western actors are also vying for presence. Fiber becomes an instrument of soft power and economic sovereignty.
The security paradox: who will protect the fiber?
Official ceremonies tend to downplay a critical question: who will guard the cable? The route crosses parts of Niger where security risks are far from theoretical. The Agadez region is strategic, and Assamaka, near the Algerian border, has a reinforced military presence. In March 2026, the commander of defense zone No. 2 visited to meet deployed forces in this strategic area. Recent history underscores the border’s vulnerability: in June 2021, a joint police and national guard patrol was attacked near Assamaka, leaving four dead. But the problem extends beyond the north. In 2026, Niger faces mounting pressure from two major jihadist organizations: the Islamic State in the Sahel (ISSP) and JNIM, affiliated with Al-Qaeda. ACLED has described western Niger as a major confrontation theater between the two. In June 2026, a JNIM-claimed attack on Niamey’s airport and military base demonstrated armed groups’ ability to strike sensitive infrastructure, even in the capital. The risk to the fiber is twofold: sabotage and accidental or deliberate network interruption, plus the difficulty of maintaining infrastructure across long desert distances.
Fiber as a sovereignty infrastructure
This is perhaps one of the most underestimated issues. The backbone does not just carry streaming, messaging, or social media. It can support administrative communications, financial services, trade, data systems, and digitized public services. Niger plans to pair the fiber with a Tier III national data center designed to strengthen its digital sovereignty. As the country digitizes its administration and economy, this infrastructure becomes critical. It will need protection akin to a road, pipeline, or power line. Paradoxically, this necessity gives new dimension to security cooperation between Algiers and Niamey. In February 2026, the two countries decided to strengthen border control and coordinate strategies against terrorism and cross-border crime.
A new route, but not yet a rent
The big economic question remains open. How much will Algeria earn annually from Nigerien traffic? How much will Niger save on connectivity costs? What is the transit price per gigabit via the Algerian link? What share goes to public operators? Currently, public data cannot answer these precisely. What can be established is more solid: Niger benefited from an investment of about €43 million for its national component, largely funded by the AfDB and complemented by national contribution; Algeria has built several thousand kilometers of fiber on its territory; and the two countries have now turned their national networks into an operational cross-border digital corridor. The real ‘deal’ is less a check than an architecture. For Niamey, it is a partial exit from digital isolation. For Algiers, it is the chance to become a privileged digital gateway to the Sahel. But in a space where armed groups still contest state territorial control, one final condition will determine success: keeping the cable intact. In the Sahara, building fiber is a technical feat. Turning it into profitable, secure, and sustainable infrastructure may be the true challenge of the next decade.