France Telecom and its subsidiaries have partnered with various international operators to lay a submarine fibre-optic cable that will provide internet access to over 20 countries within the West African coastal region.
France Telecom’s subsidiaries Cote d’Ivoire Telecom, Orange Bissau, Orange Cameroun, Orange Guinee, Orange Mali, Orange Niger, Orange Spain and Sonatel are involved in the projects named ACE (Africa Coast to Europe).
The 12,000 km cable will extend from Gabon to France. From 2011, the cable is expected to connect Gabon, Cameroon, Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Senegal, Gambia, Cape Verde, Mauritania, Morocco, Spain, Portugal and France. The company is also studying the extension to South Africa.
France Telecom says that the new cable will benefit from the latest high-performance technology used in submarine cables, Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM), and will operate alongside existing systems. The new submarine cable will provide international connectivity to internet-based services in West Africa.
France Telecom, which operates in 15 African countries, already partly owns submarine cables in Africa, including Sat3-Wasc-Safe, linking Portugal to Malaysia down the West coast of Africa, and Atlantis 2 linking Portugal to Argentina via Senegal.
