West Africa Cable System (WACS) has been officially launched in Cape Town on Friday.
The submarine cable which links Southern and Western Africa to Europe will increase South Africa’s broadband capacity by more than 500 Gigabits per second (Gbps), reports African Business Review.
WACS cable stretches from South Africa all the way to UK. The project cost was approximately US$650 million.
Telecoms giant MTN was the biggest investor in WACS, and its official Trevor Martins stated:
“It was critical for MTN to ensure direct access into its markets in West Africa, and linking efficient system design with multiple landing points. Accordingly, WACS has 15 established terminal stations along its route, including Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Republic of Congo and Namibia – all countries where MTN has a presence.”
Martins added that “MTN is the largest investor in WACS, with commitments in excess of $100 million, comprising $90 million system capital contribution and additional capital investments towards the construction of cable landing facilities in Cameroon, Ghana, Nigeria and Cote d’Ivoire.”
[mappress] Subsea World News Staff , May 13, 2012;