Installation of a 4,854-kilometre undersea cable, whose landing point in Kenya will be managed by Telkom Kenya, has started.
This offers hope that the completion of the Sh24.3 billion ($235 million) project will be within the June 2020 deadline.
The project is expected to improve the quality and affordability of broadband internet access in the East and West coast of Africa.
An update from Djibouti Telecom says that Djibouti Africa Regional Express 1 (DARE1) submarine cable system has already landed at La Siesta Beach in the Horn of Africa country.
The cable will interconnect Kenya and Djibouti, offering a strategic alternative in the routing of traffic as well as the handling of increased continuity capacity to East Africa.
Telkom Kenya’s senior manager Kebaso Mokogi said the investment will offer diversity in the routing of traffic and provide for fibre continuity, cognisant of the risk at the high seas.
“The DARE 1 Cable System will boost Kenya’s current capacity, given that it will be the largest, it will also provide an alternative redundant international connection, more importantly powered by newer and more reliable technology,” said Mr Mokogi.
The project received a boost last year with International Finance Corporation saying it will put in Sh2.5 billion. The project is being executed by Western Indian Ocean Cable Company, a firm in which Telkom Kenya owns a nine per cent stake.
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