SEACOM now live on Equiano cable

The Equiano cable, a major subsea connection, has been successfully laid and commissioned. This connectivity cable connects Cape Town to Lisbon (Portugal) using the latest technologies in subsea fibre optics. It is expected that the Equiano cable will give South African businesses access to fibre internet with latency speeds of +/-110ms between South Africa and Europe, with up to 20 times more network capacity.

As a leading provider of fibre and ICT services to businesses across South Africa, SEACOM has joined this new generation of cable which paves the way for the future of connectivity. Along with other big tech companies, SEACOM has embarked on the race to serve the “last billion” - the last of the global population that does not have access to affordable and reliable internet.

It’s believed that 40% of the world population is under-connected. Around 35% of the African population is without internet connectivity, compared to 65% in other areas of the globe. Data consumption in South Africa has massively increased in recent years. As more businesses use cloud technologies as their main digital transformation strategy, there is a steadily increasing demand for robust digital connectivity.

South Africa currently connects to six undersea cables, including SEACOM’s own infrastructure. However some of these cables use older technologies from the 2010s. Equiano makes use of the latest fibre technology and will help to provide continuous connectivity in case there are outages on the other cables.

The new subsea cable

The new cable, like other private undersea cables, is named after an influential historical figure. Olaudah Equiano was an 18th century Nigerian writer and merchant who was enslaved in his youth. Equiano bought his freedom and wrote about his experiences, campaigning to end the slave trade.

Equiano uses state-of-the-art infrastructure and space-division multiplexing technology, the cable supports very high capacity networks. It is expected that it will increase network capacity by 20% when compared to the last subsea cable that was built to reach the South African shores.

The new cable requires large capital investment and there has been a growing trend for tech companies to invest in and operate subsea cables in recent years. This investment supports the growth of online demand. It stimulates the data market and progression of the internet.

The Equiano cable is innovative and pioneers new technologies of optical switching at a fibre-pair level. Traditionally, cables have wavelength-level switching. The new level of switching makes it much easier to allocate the capacity of the cable and routing data traffic to different locations can be done as needed.

New cable to increase speeds and reduce prices

Experts estimate that internet prices will also drop by 21% and speeds will be five times faster than what is currently available in most African countries. South Africans can expect speeds that are about three times faster with a decrease in monthly costs. Large bandwidth users will experience immediate price drops because of improved competition among internet service providers (ISPs).

However, not all South Africans will experience these immediate improvements in internet speeds and prices. Terrestrial fibre in South Africa currently connects about 65% of the country’s towns and cities. More infrastructure is needed in South Africa to alleviate the issues caused by poor connectivity in remote areas.

Subsea cables along the African coast

The deployment of fibre across Africa drives innovation. Smart manufacturing requires high-speed, reliable fibre. Remote collaboration via video conferencing, live streaming and cloud services will also improve. Fibre internet can connect healthcare workers and specialists to remote areas.

Education can also benefit from improved connectivity as children gain access to online resources. App-based services and e-commerce are supported by the deployment of fibre internet, allowing South Africa to improve its digital transformation.

SEACOM is proud to announce its partnership on the Equiano cable. The benefits it will bring to businesses and homes across the country will be worth the investment. For more information about our connectivity services or to get a quote, email us at marketing@seacom.com or leave us a message.

SEACOM operates Africa’s most extensive network of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) infrastructure, including multiple subsea cables and secure internet connections tracing both sides of the continent. This is partnered with broad terrestrial fibre networks in Southern and East Africa, extending services to these regions.

Today, SEACOM provides holistic ICT solutions covering connectivity, cyber security, cloud, smart networking and communication products that provide African businesses with the necessary building blocks to deliver world-class solutions to their clients. We are privately owned and operated, making us agile and adaptable to the needs of our customers.

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