Kenya embarks on building alternative fibre optic cable route

In a move aimed at providing redundancy for the international Internet traffic that comes through the undersea cable, TEAMs, the Kenyan government is in talks with the Ethiopian government to link the two countries using terrestrial fibre optic through the Moyale border.

The Kenyan government has laid a terrestrial fibre optic cable (part of the National Fibre Optic Backhaul) from Thika to Moyale and says the Ethiopia government is working on a similar link from their end.

Information permanent secretary, Dr Bitange Ndemo, said the route will provide redundancy to the TEAMs cable up to Djibouti. “We have been approached by the Ethiopian government if we can link up our terrestrial fibre up at Moyale,” said Dr Ndemo.

“[It] will provide alternative route incase of any undersea cable cut along the Somali sea route and the same will be done between Kenya and Tanzania along Isibania or Namanga border points.”

Regional operators relaying on TEAMs cable for connectivity can only use satellite for back-up.

However, those connected to both TEAMs and Seacom can still connect to the rest of the world using Seacom that has an alternative route via South Africa.

Having a redundancy path means companies, government agencies or NGOs connected to the undersea cable can reroute traffic in case of hiccups.

Most infrastructure providers invest in multiple undersea cables to reduce losses in case of cuts.

However, in January 2008, experience from Middle East and South Asia showed that even relaying on multiple undersea cables is not foolproof.

The cuts hit two fibre optic links: FLAG Europe Asia and SEA-ME-WE-4.

The two are competitors that carry traffic from Europe through the Middle East along to Japan (and vice versa).

In December 2006, four major fibre optic lines were severely damaged following a major earthquake in Taiwan.

Subsequent underwater mudslides damaged nine cables laid in the Luzon Strait south of Taiwan.

The cuts erased all eastward data routes from Southeast Asia.

It took 49 days for crews on 11 giant cable-laying ships to fix all of the 21 damage points, according to the International Cable Protection Committee.

This, however, does not mean that the terrestrial fibre cable are immune to cuts going by the recent happenings within the country showing they are more prone to cuts than the undersea cables.

Telecoms operators and infrastructure providers have experienced several cuts on their networks citing sabotage in some cases while others have been linked to accidents, for example, during the road construction.

Stern action

However, Dr Ndemo says he does not foresee the Thika-Moyale cable, which is owned by the government and managed by Telkom Kenya, experiencing cuts due to sabotage since operators will have to share it.

Meanwhile, the government is investigating if the recent cable cuts are a result of sabotage.

If the destruction is found to be linked to malice, the government may be forced to take stern action, including cancelling the licence of the provider found guilty.

The Kenya Communications (Amendment) Act says any person found guilty of cable vandalism is liable to five-year jail term or a fine of Sh1 million.