Copying and distributing are prohibited without permission of the publisher
Broadband cable to west Africa is live
02 July 2010
MainOne links Ghana and Nigeria with western Europe
Read more:
MainOne
Nigeria
Africa
submarine cable
Portugal
Main One
Tyco
West Africa’s first broadband submarine cable has started operation on time after an investment of $240 million, mainly from African investors.
MainOne, which connects Portugal on Europe’s Atlantic coast to Ghana and Nigeria, is capable of running at 1.92 terabits a second with current technology, though initially it is running at a lower speed until demand builds up.
“The capacity of the cable is 1.92 terabits a second, but on July 1 we will light up 30 gigabits on each link we have on the network — 90 gigs in all.” CEO Funke Opeke told Gloabl Telecoms Business in an exclusive interview in June 2010. That’s one from Portugal to Ghana, one from Portugal to Nigeria and one from Ghana to Nigeria.
At the opening of the cable, Fola Adeola, chairman of the company, said: “Today is a historic day for west Africa. The arrival of the MainOne cable proves that much good can be done by Africans for Africans.”
MainOne is planning further landing points in Morocco, Canary Islands, Senegal and Ivory Coast for the current cable and hopes to expand it right along the west coast of Africa to South Africa, where it is planned to join up with Seacom, an east coast cable that has gone into service recently.
“We are pleased to realise the fruit of our dedication and commitment in the past 30 months,” said Adeola. “More importantly, we are happy to be a channel for driving growth in Africa and changing the status quo for the average African as reliable internet connectivity becomes easily accessible and affordable for all.” GTB
For the full GTB interview with Funke Opeke, CEO of MainOne, go here