Kigali: It started as a protest to another regional project called EASSy, Kenyans and Tanzanians on Wednesday start to see very high-speed broadband internet as the SEACOM undersea cable is finally switched on, RNA reports.
As bickering among regional governments raged on over EASSy, Kenya managed to put together a consortium of partners and SEACOM was born barely three years ago.In 2007, SEACOM announced the cable would be operational by the first quarter of 2009, a similar time frame for the alternative East Coast cable - EASSy. But while EASSy seemed increasingly bogged down by political interference, SEACOM strode on with a business-as-usual focus.
And indeed other countries like Rwanda have come on board immediately. Kigali is in negotiations with Kenya to tap directly from the cable, as its national 2000km-plus backborne system nears completion. On Wednesday, a stakeholders’ workshop in Kigali heard that by October Rwanda must start to tap from the Kenyan system.
SEACOM plans to sell ‘cheap bandwidth’ that will encourage volume discounts and large bandwidth growth. The SEA Cable System is being designed with a nominal capacity of 1 280 Gb/s comprised of two fiber pairs which are expected to connect South Africa, Mozambique, Madagascar, Tanzania and Kenya to India and Europe.
Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki will be on hand to open up the Kenya switch-point in Mombasa, as Tanzania’s Jakaya Kikwete officially switches on the much-anticipated point in Dar es Salaam.
However, all has not been as slippery in the final last days. First, the switch-on was delayed from June 27 to July 8, and the date again shifted to July 23 because of the ravaging problem of Somali pirates. Increased Somali pirate activity during April and May affected Seacom’s cable installation plans.
The planned route required the ship to transit an area of increased pirate activity, where other ships had been attacked or seized.
The cable deployment in the troublesome waters has since been completed and splicing to connect the section of cable from Mumbai (India) to Africa is expected shortly. Testing of the larger cable system will be finalised shortly thereafter. The cable section from South Africa (Mtunzini) to Kenya (Mombasa), including all south and east African landing stations, has already undergone successful testing.
Seacom's undersea cable project will be the first of its kind to connect to East Africa from the rest of the world through links to India, the United Kingdom and France.
Other African countries that will connect to the cable are Mozambique, Kenya and Tanzania. The cable will also link to Madagascar, Ethopia and Egypt.
The project is 76,25% African-owned, with South Africa's Shanduka Group (12,5%), Venfin Limited (25%), Convergence Partners (12,5%) and Kenya's Industrial Promotion Services (26,25%) all on board. The remaining 23,75% is owned by Herakles Telecom, a New-York-based international development group.
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