Global Insight Perspective | |
Significance | The new cable will rival the proposed East African Submarine Cable System (EASSy), which would also run from South Africa to Djibouti, but has been affected by a number of delays. |
Implications | At least three planned submarine cables will run from Kenya: the EASSy cable; Kenya Data Networks has signed an agreement with FLAG to build a cable from Mombasa to meet the FALCON cable off the coast of Yemen; and the Kenyan government is also planning its own submarine cable running from Mombasa to Al Fujairah (U.A.E.). |
Outlook | For the time being, the Eastern African region is one of the few regions of the world not served by any submarine cable system. As a result, countries in this region are 100% dependent on satellite for all of their international bandwidth. |
FLAG Telecom recently announced plans to invest US$1.5 billion into laying 50,000 kilometres of submarine cables covering 60 countries over the next 36 months (see World: 29 December 2006: Flag Telecom Plans US$1.5-bil. Investment to Increase Undersea Cable Capability). According to a company press release, the following systems have been planned:
- FLAG NGN System 1: Asia—India, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines, Brunei, Hong Kong
- FLAG NGN System 2: Africa—Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Madagascar, Mauritius
- FLAG NGN System 3: Mediterranean—Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, Malta, Libya, Lebanon
- FLAG NGN System 4: Trans-Pacific—U.S. West Coast, Japan, China, Hong Kong
The FLAG NGN System 2 would cover the eastern seaboard of Africa. For the time being, countries on the eastern coast of Africa, and the landlocked countries including Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Zambia, and Malawi are not served by any submarine cables and 100% of their international bandwidth is provided by satellite. There are a number of systems covering the Mediterranean, the Sat-3/WASC system serves Western Africa, and the SAFE connects South Africa to the Far East via Mauritius and Reunion.
Outlook and Implications
”We live in a world where there is too much bandwidth for some, little for others, and none for many—there is unequal access to bandwidth in and across countries, continents and communities,” said Anil Dhirubhai Ambani, chairman of Reliance Communications in a company press release. ”FLAG Telecom will democratise digital access and give nearly everyone in the world the opportunity to be part of a massive lifestyle change.”
Kenya Data Networks (KDN), the first alternative international gateway operator licensed in Kenya, has reportedly entered into a provisional agreement with FLAG Telecom last year to build its own submarine cable from Kenya. That agreement reportedly covers the construction of a submarine cable spur from Mombasa to meet the FALCON cable off the coast of Yemen, which would be completed by the end of September 2007 at the latest. It is reportedly valued at US$115 million, according to Balancing Act, but does provide an escape clause if KDN chooses to take it. FLAG’s FALCON submarine cable was launched last year (see Middle East and North Africa: 8 September 2006: FLAG Launches FALCON Submarine Cable System). The FLAG NGN System 2 would therefore presumably connect to this spur running from Kenya to the FALCON cable.
KDN also signed the memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the proposed EASSy cable (see Kenya: 14 July 2005: KDN Joins EASSy Submarine Cable Consortium). Significantly, in November 2005, FLAG signed an agreement with the Sudanese operator Canar Telecommunication to provide East Africa’s first landing station for the FALCON cable at Port Sudan (see Sudan: 21 November 2005:Second Sudanese Fixed-Line Operator Invests in FALCON Submarine Cable).