The
subsea cables are landing – but what next?
After
much expectation, SEACOM, the submarine fibre optic cable connecting
Africa to Europe, Asia and the rest of the world, has finally arrived,
bringing 1.28 Tbit/s of capacity to the continent. We’re excited
to announce that two years after committing to the project, Gateway
Communications is live on SEACOM. Gateway was the first company
to commit to SEACOM, having recognised the importance of supporting
new infrastructure in our drive to build the future landscape of
pan-African telecommunications.
We are also a major
investor in WACS (the West Africa Cable System due for completion
in 2011) and have been using the SAT-3 cable since its inception.
With more cables due to land next year, there has been much fanfare
and hype about open access to bandwidth capacity for operators.
But once the debate about pricing has subsided, it is important
to look at the larger opportunity that subsea cables bring for the
future of the African telecommunications landscape.
The landing of SEACOM
and other cables demonstrates that Africa’s information age
is well underway. These cables will continue to open people’s
eyes to what ICT can deliver – both to consumers and to businesses.
To take an example from
Kenya; the country’s economic development plan, Vision 2030,
sees Business Process Outsourcing as a key driver in positioning
Kenya as an ICT hub – the arrival of high-speed broadband
has made this possible. In South Africa, a survey conducted by Citrix
Systems indicates that 79% of attendees of the company’s Solutions
Seminar expect a boost in their business as a result of the increased
bandwidth.
Africa is becoming increasingly
wired-up to the world. Whilst SEACOM has attracted the most attention,
there are many other systems set to increase broadband availability
tremendously. TEAMS (The East African Marine System) has recently
landed to connect Kenya with the United Arab Emirates, EASSy (The
Eastern Africa Submarine Cable System) is due for completion next
year and is a landmark fibre-optic cable project that will connect 21 African countries to each other and to the rest of the world with several landing
stations along the eastern coast. As Africa’s available bandwidth
increases, the issue will no longer be a shortage of capacity but
rather how and where it is used. As the initial excitement dwindles,
we will see a need to consolidate the capacity available and use
it wisely to the benefit of consumers and businesses across Africa.
An issue in this regard
is how increased access and technological opportunity can be carried
inland from the beaches and capital cities to beyond. Gateway, as
a total communications provider, is still able to supply a variety
of connectivity solutions to meet demand for bandwidth whether this
is based on satellite, submarine cable or terrestrial fibre infrastructure.
The new availability of capacity in the market is not a limitation,
but a huge opportunity. So, whilst we celebrate the landing of cables
on the continent, we will also continue investing in the infrastructure
that will enable every person and business in Africa to communicate
affordably and effectively.
|
Belgium