adminlaunched next month.
The firm initiated and leads the Ace Consortium, which is constructing a 17 000 km long fibre optic submarine cable system stretching from France to South Africa and planned to connect more than 20 countries.
“We are on schedule,” said Yvess Rugerri Director, Network Strategy and Submarine Systems for France Telecom.
“The service, which is now undergoing testing, will be ready for launch in all the countries next month.
“There will be a ceremony in Banjul, The Gambia on December 15 to mark the event,” added Rugerri.
The new submarine network system, with built-in 40 Gbit/s capability, is poised to enhance internet connectivity in the 23 countries that it will connect to as well as become a key driver of Africa’s social and economic growth. The ACE system has a design capacity of 5.12 Tbps and supported by the new 40 Gbps wavelength division multiplexing technology that would accommodate tomorrow’s ultra-broadband networks.
The project, initiated in 2010, plans to connect the countries directly for coastal countries and indirectly through terrestrial links for landlocked countries like Mali and Niger.
The cable is the first international submarine cable to land in Equatorial Guinea, The Gambia, Guinea, Liberia, Mauritania, Sao Tome and Principe and Sierra Leone. While it is scheduled mainly for West Africa, the cable will also land in Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, Namibia and South Africa.
ACE Africa Coast to Europe) is a consortium of telecom operators from the continent and Europe. The 17 members of the ACE consortium are Cable Consortium of Liberia, Companhia Santomense de Telecomunicacoes, Cote d’Ivoire Telecom, Expresso Telecom Group, France Telecom, Gambia
Telecommunications Company, International Mauritania Telecom, Orange Cameroun, Orange Guinee, Orange Mali, Orange Niger, PT Comunicacoes, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Gabon, Sierra Leone Cable Company, Sonatel and Sotelgui. — CAJ News.
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