[kictanet] Fw: [Fibre-for-africa] Fwd: Govt Ministers Approve $ 2bn 'Uhurunet' Cable

Thu Oct 18 11:21:03 EAT 2007

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Subject: Government Ministers Approve $ 2bn Submarine Cable to Connect Africa
From:    "Samuel Mikenga" <SMikenga at eafricacommission.org>
Date:    Thu, October 18, 2007 8:03 am
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Government Ministers Approve $ 2bn Submarine Cable to Connect Africa

Government Ministers responsible for Information and Communication
Technologies (ICTs) from eastern and southern African countries endorsed a
$ 2 bn submarine cable project to connect Africa, and called for its
speedy implementation.  This was revealed at a press conference held, 15
October 2007 in Johannesburg, South Africa.

With a capacity of 3.84 Terrabits/sec, the 50,000 km cable is designed to
provide telecommunications connectivity to Africa and connect the
continent to the Americas, India, and Europe. It is expected that
completion of this project will greatly contribute to reduction of
telecommunications costs that have been a hindrance to doing business in
Africa.

“Recognising the urgent need to have ICT broadband infrastructure to
support high-quality, high-speed and reliable electronic communications in
Africa and connecting to the rest of the world at affordable prices thus
accelerated regional and continental integration;  we welcome this
initiative and recommit ourselves to ensuring a speedy implementation of
this important project”, a statement read by the Ugandan Minister for ICT,
Dr Ham Mukasa Mulira, who chaired the Ministers’ meeting, read in part.

The Ministers named the submarine segment of the NEPAD network UHURUNET;
its terrestrial segment, UMOJANET; and recommended the Holding Company of
the Submarine cable, BAHARICOM.  Under the arrangement, NEPAD Special
Purpose Vehicle (SPV) will be the largest single shareholder.

“We have accordingly directed The NEPAD e-Africa Commission to present on
our behalf the proposed submarine cable system to the meeting of African
Ministers responsible for Information and Communication Technologies
(ICTs) and/or Telecommunications, and to the Heads of State and Government
Summit”, Dr Mulira added.

The Government of Rwanda has invited African Ministers to the Connect
Africa Summit to be held in Kigali on 29-30th October 2007, under the
Patronage of President Paul Kagame of the Republic of Rwanda and President
Agyekum Kufour, the President of Ghana and current Chairperson of the
African Union, and other invited Heads of State.

African Owned Cable

South African Minister for communications, Dr Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri said
the experiences in South Africa and Mauritius show that private sector-led
undersea cable projects, where the ‘private clubs’ decide the cost of
telecommunications, have never been beneficial to countries in urgent need
of affordable broadband connectivity.  She said that the NEPAD cable
would be majority African owned and advised that the best initiatives for
Africa were those that were not only geared towards making profits but
also putting Africa’s development concerns under consideration.

Many Benefits

The collaboration on the construction of a highly capacity submarine cable
system initiative to connect Africa to the rest of the world is
coordinated by the NEPAD e-African Commission.

Says Dr Henry Chasia, the Executive Deputy Chairperson of NEPAD e-Africa
Commission, “This is a joint collaboration to leverage different submarine
cable initiatives for the development of a high capacity African submarine
cable as part of the accelerated implementation of the Kigali protocol”

“This submarine cable will have landing points provisions in all coastal
and Island countries, provide increased capacity to all destinations, and
participants will benefit from economies of scale ”, added Dr Chasia.

To enable all African countries enjoy the benefits of UHURUNET and
UMOJANET, the Ministers directed the NEPAD e-Africa Commission to work
with the African Union Commission to develop the modalities to enable any
African country that may wish to access to the Kigali Protocol, do so.

It is expected that the cable will be completed before the FIFA 2010 World
Cup scheduled to take place in South Africa.

Ends

Notes for Editors

1.    UHURU is a Kiswahili word meaning ‘freedom’. The submarine segment of
the NEPAD network was named UHURUNET in recognition of the fiftieth
anniversary of the beginning of Sub-Sahara African independence from
colonial rule and the importance of the cable for economic freedom in
Africa.
2.    UMOJA is a kiswahili word meaning ‘togetherness’.  The Ministers
designated the terrestrial segment of the NEPAD network as UMOJANET in
recognition of the spirit of unity in action among, and united action by
all the stakeholders of the countries of Eastern and Southern Africa
involved in the project.
3.    BAHARI is a Kiswahili word that means ‘sea’.  The Ministers
recommended that the holding company of the submarine cable be named
BAHARICOM because it was operating an under-sea cable.
4.    About the Protocol
The Protocol on the Policy and Regulatory framework for NEPAD ICT
Broadband Infrastructure Network is based on the Constitutive Act of the
African Union. Its main objective is to facilitate and commit the Parties
to the construction and operation of the NEPAD ICT Broadband
Infrastructure Network on ‘Open Access’ principles of operation, which
ensure a level playing field and equal access to the infrastructure.

Hosted by the Rwandan Government and African Union (AU), the protocol
signing ceremony of ICT Ministers from Eastern and Southern African
countries participating in the NEPAD ICT Broadband Infrastructure Network,
including the Submarine Cable Segment, took place in Kigali, Rwanda on
28-29 August 2006.  The ceremony was presided over by the Rwandan
President HE Paul Kagame.

The protocol provides for the formation of an Inter-Governmental Assembly
(IGA), which is responsible for ensuring the speedy implementation of the
NEPAD ICT Broadband Infrastructure Network. Currently, the signatory
countries are in the process of ratifying the Kigali protocol to make it
operational.

Project Run under NEPAD Principles
The NEPAD e-Africa Commission is working to ensure the realization of the
priority ICT objective for Africa:  all African countries getting
connected to one another by broadband fibre optic cable systems that will
in turn link them to the rest of the world through existing or planned
sub-marine cable systems.

Since its adoption by Heads of States and Government Implementation
Committee (HSGIC) in November 2004 as a NEPAD flagship Project, the ICT
Broadband Infrastructure Project, is being run under the auspices, context
and principles of NEPAD, which emphasize collaboration among African
countries, and specifically African ownership and leadership.

For more information, please contact:
Samuel Mikenga
Manager, Public Communications
NEPAD e-Africa Commission
Email: SMikenga at eafricacommission.org
Tel: +27 12 841 4523 (office); Tel: +27 725 296 769 (mobile)
Fax: +27 12 841 4094

CSIR Building 43B
Meiring Naude Road
Pretoria, SOUTH AFRICA
Website: www.eafricacommission.org

Samuel Mikenga
Manager, Public Communications
NEPAD e-Africa Commission
Email: SMikenga at eafricacommission.org
Email: s.mikenga at paris.com
Tel: +27 12 841 4523 (office)
Tel: +27  725 296 769 (mobile)
Fax: +27 12 841 4094

CSIR Building 43B
Meiring Naude Road
Pretoria, SOUTH AFRICA
Website: www.eafricacommission.org

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