Workers lay out a fibre optic cable. Seacom is set to complete the project by mid next week. /Fredrick Onyango
Kenya’s second fibre optic cable is on track for completion in the next five days.
Seacom, a privately-funded fibre optic project, is set for completion by mid next week, setting the stage for cheap internet connectivity and enhanced communications in the country.
“We can now confirm that all construction on Phase 1 is complete and testing is under way on the fully powered system. I am confident that July 23 will be our ready for service date,” said Seacom CEO, Mr Brian Herhily.
Market players have started gearing up for the arrival of the fibre optic link, with players realigning their product lines to take advantage of cheaper connectivity.
AccessKenya Group on Thursday announced that it had upgraded its internet core network by 10 times, raising its capacity from 1,000mb to 10,000mb at a cost of Sh60 million in preparation for the activation of Kenya’s two links, Seacom and the East African Marine System (TEAMs), which landed early this month.
The company said it hoped to ensure that its core network was scaled to handle and manage the large capacities of the international fibre cables and to ensure its core internet network is upgrade proofed for a number of years.
“We have been planning for the arrival of the international fibre optic cables for almost a year, with an integrated plan involving the international capacity, the 140km metro fibre ring covering 250 buildings which we have almost completed building, and significant upgrades of our core internet and wireless infrastructure,” said Mr Jonathan Somen, AccessKenya Group managing director.
However, analysts are sounding the alarm that the country may wind up with too much broadband connectivity as players in the industry have bought more capacity than they are willing to handle.
Access Kenya, for instance, has purchased a total of 2,500mb of capacity on the Seacom fibre optic cable which, together with a similar amount procured on the TEAMS cable, will give it a total of 5,000mb of capacity, a figure that is four times what the entire country already uses.
Kenya currently purchases 1,200mb on satellite, and market watchers warn that players in the industry may be induced to engage in a price war to entice more users to use their large amounts of capacity.
High-quality Internet The news comes following a World Bank report which has found that every 10 per cent increase in high-speed Internet connections in developing countries results in a corresponding increase of 1.3 per cent in economic growth.
The bank’s Information and Communications for Development 2009: Extending Reach and Increasing Impact’ report found that access to affordable, high-quality Internet and mobile phone services enabled development across all levels of the economy and society.
World Bank global information and communication technologies director Mohsen Khalil said fibre optic technologies offered developing economies tremendous opportunities.
“Governments can work with the private sector to accelerate (the) roll-out of broadband networks and to extend access to low-income consumers,” he said.
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