Submarine cables

A submarine communications cable is a cable laid on the sea bed between land-based stations to carry telecommunication signals across stretches of ocean.
The first submarine communications cables carried telegraphy traffic. Subsequent generations of cables carried first telephony traffic, then data communications traffic. All modern cables use optical fiber technology to carry digital payloads, which are then used to carry telephone traffic as well as Internet and private data traffic.

http://www.safe-sat3.co.za/homepage/Pirate_Map.gif

Benin shares with some others Africans, European  and Asian countries 2 submarine cables: Africa Coast to Europe or ACE (17 000 km of length) and SAT-3/WASC (14 350 km of length).