EASSy fibre cable finally set for landing

Kenya is set to host its third submarine optic fibre cable in slightly over a month’s time with services accessible by the end of April, officials of the East African Submarine Cable System (EASSy) have confirmed.

However, piracy and insecurity off the coast of East Africa will lead to the project costing $6 million more, as the cable takes a longer route to avoid any incidents.

“We have had to re-route the cable out by 400km to avoid running into areas associated with Somali pirates. The additional cost has been absorbed into the total costs for the project and we are on track to meet our April 1 Mombasa landing date,” said Chris Wood, CEO of the West Indian Cable Company (WIOCC).

WIOCC represents the consortium of African telcos who own the largest share in EASSy.

Last year, the arrival of Seacom, the private sector-led submarine fibre project that landed in Mombasa last July, was delayed by a month due to piracy concerns.

EASSy said that it had factored in the piracy element into its timelines and costings, leading to its firm announcement of a landing on April 1 in Mombasa.

Mr Wood said the two ships from French contractor Alcatel-Lucent that EASSy is using to lay its cable each have teams of 24 highly trained French security forces on board to act as a deterrent against any piracy attempts.

International fibre cables are laid by highly specialised ships on sea floors in a step-by-step process that means they often are prone to attacks from smaller vessels such as those the pirates use.

Increased piracy in the sea off the coast of East Africa has become a significant business risk for ships operating in the area.

The International Maritime Bureau reports that piracy in the region rose to an all time high, with most incidents occuring in the Gulf of Aden.

The bureau says that a total of 217 vessels were attacked last year with 47 successfully hijacked and over 800 crew taken hostage.

The arrival of Kenya’s third international fibre optic link is expected to force market players to realign their product offerings in line with the entry of cheaper international bandwidth.

Consumer expectations were dampened last year after the arrival of two other international fibre links - the East African Marine System (TEAMS) and Seacom - failed to result in the cost of internet communication falling as anticipated.

Market players have blamed shifting industry dynamics such as their continued dependence on existing satellite contracts and higher onward connectivity costs for the slight dip in prices experienced following the arrival of fibre links in the country.

In addition, inland connectivity has been hampered by an increase in cuts along the fibre network that stream the international connectivity to urban centres.