Low cost bandwith by 2009

2007-12-12 15:31

Nicole Rego

Johannesburg - International structured cabling contractor Seacom said on Wednesday that construction has begun on the SEA Cable System that is expected to boost Africa's broadband connectivity by offering high bandwidth at low costs.

It also said that the cable should be complete by June 2009.

The privately funded submarine fibre optic cable is expected to connect southern and east Africa with Europe and India by linking Mtunzini in South Africa to Mumbai in India and Marseille in France via Mozambique, Madagascar, Kenya, and Tanzania.

According to Seacom, its offerings will complement communication carriers of South and East Africa through the sale of wholesale international capacity to global networks eastward through India and westward through Europe.

The additional bandwidth provided by the cable, which will cost $650m and cover more than 15 000km, will also be a catalyst for productivity and the growth of services industries.

Seacom said that the cable would provide African retail carriers with equal and open access to inexpensive bandwidth, removing the international infrastructure bottleneck and supporting East and South African economic growth.

"The overwhelming demand for increased bandwidth in East and South Africa grows greater each day," said Brian Herlihy, the president of Seacom.

He said: "The SEA Cable System is making massive new bandwidth available, enabling prices to come down dramatically and opening up the possibility of developing new fields of economic activity in all the countries served".

According to Herlihy, the SEA Cable System will be ready to serve Southern and East African markets from 2009, well in time to meet the bandwidth needs of the Confederations Cup and the 2010 Soccer World Cup in South Africa, and the growing requirements of the economies in the countries it serves.

In November Seacom had already invested more than $10m in the marine survey of the cable, which would allowed it to maintain its ready-for-service date of June 2009.

- I-Net Bridge (News24)