[kictanet] Destination Kenya : What are the progress updates for the undersea fiber to kenya?

[aki]

 Any progress from TEAMS and the rest? Still on paper?

Seacom cable construction begins :

 *13 December 2007*

Tyco Telecommunications has announced that it has started construction on
the US$650-million Seacom undersea fibre-optic cable, which will link
southern and eastern Africa with India and Europe by 2009, bringing down
connectivity costs on the continent.

"Seacom's 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," Tyco said in a
statement on Wednesday.

"The system will 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."

According to Tyco, the increased capacity of the cable as compared to
existing infrastructure will enable the greater availability and lower cost
of high-demand services such as high definition television (HDTV), peer to
peer networks and internet protocol television (IPTV).

*Majority African owned*
South African companies will own half of the private equity funded Seacom
undersea fibre-optic cable, with total African ownership of the cable to
reach 75%.

The future of the 15 000km SEA Cable System (Seacom) was previously in doubt
when Communications Minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri announced that any cable
landing in the country would have to be majority South African owned.

Business Day reported in November that local investment company VenFin was
putting in $75-million for a 25% stake in the project, while black economic
empowerment companies Shanduka and Convergence Partners were each taking a
12.5% stake worth $37.5-million.

The paper added that Industrial Promotion Services, a unit of Kenya-based
development agency the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development, had also
taken a 25% stake in the cable, making it majority-owned by African
investors.

The group had already awarded a $10-million marine survey and engineering
contract to American-based Tyco Telecommunications.

"East and South African user demand for international bandwidth, whether for
business, institution or individual use, has greatly surpassed the existing
supply," Herakles Telecom vice president Brian Herlihy said in the statement
by Tyco. "Seacom, as an international submarine cable system, will provide
significant supply at affordable prices."

According to Business Day, New York-based Herakles Telecom is a development
group that has invested some $4-billion in Africa, and owns 25% of the
cable.

South Africa's second national operator, Neotel, is not part of the
cable-building consortium, but owns the landing rights as part of its
licence and will contribute R20-million toward the project, with funds going
toward the cable landing station and all related facilities within South
African territory.

*'Cable a success story'*
"We are particularly excited that the South African investors in Seacom have
a 50% stake, making this [cable] one of the country's success stories",
Neotel managing director Ajay Pandey said in a company statement.

Seacom will have a capacity of 1.28 terabits per second, which is
approximately 10 times the current capacity of the SAT-3 cable which runs
along Africa's west coast and connects South Africa to Europe.

According to Neotel, the cable should be ready for service during 2009,
placing South Africa in a much stronger position to support the 2010 Fifa
World Cup, whose demand for international bandwidth, and in particular high
definition television broadcasting, will be unprecedented.

In addition, Neotel states it will operate the local landing station and
facilities on an open access basis, thus stimulating the country's
international bandwidth market.

"Neotel remains committed to a new era in the telecoms industry of South
Africa where access to international bandwidth will not be as constrained."
Pandey said.

        --- www dot
southafrica.info/business/economy/infrastructure/seacom-141107.htm ---




>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: aki <aki275 at googlemail.com>
> Date: Wed, May 28, 2008 at 2:17 PM
> Subject: Destination Kenya : What are the progress updates for the undersea
> fiber to kenya?
> To: kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke
>
>
> While everyone keeps mentioning that next year is due date for the fiber
> connectivity, can anyone share the real time progress updates on the
> undersea fiber to kenya? I plan to keep a calender on these
> technology events.
>
> - Has the actual work started?
>
> - How much has been achieved so far?
>
> - How far is the cable from mombasa ?
>
> - What is the planned initial capacity?
>
> The cable is the next biggest technology achievement in kenya. Your input
> will be appreciated.
>
> Thank you.
>
> Aki.
>
>
>
>
>
>
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