WILL SEYCHELLES MISS THE BOAT ON CONNECTIVITY?

A high level delegation of international telecommunications executives visited the Seychelles a few weeks ago to impress upon the government on the need for our country to move fast if we are to take advantage of the opportunities being created by the telecommunication revolution.

The executives, which included some from the sister companies of the local telecom network operator Cable & Wireless, as well as from other telecom companies based in the Gulf states, warned the government that if we miss the chance to link up with the undersea fibre optic cables being laid along the East African coast to the Gulf and India, we will have to shoulder the burden of funding the entire cost of laying our own connecting undersea cables.

According to our information, Cable & Wireless is prepared to shoulder a major share of the investment, but it is looking to the government to play a significant role in nurturing a consortium and attract investors for the rest.

Over the past weeks, regional press have been reporting progress on the various projects being touted in the region. According to the Kenyan press, the East African Marine Systems (TEAMS) cable project, which is kicking off this week, would be finished by the second quarter of 2009. Many telecom companies have expressed interest in TEAMS, EASSY and SEACOM cables already planned for the East Coast of Africa. The cost of Internet connectivity is expected to fall by about 200 per cent in two years as a result of undersea fibre optic connectivity.

Experts have questioned whether Africa can support so much bandwidth given the state of the economies of the states in the region. Here in Seychelles, although the telecoms industry is awash with money – it’s all in worthless rupees. Cable & Wireless (Seychelles) itself, it appears would not invest in the consortium because of it and it is not known if Airtel, whose parent is India based Bharti Telecom, will either.

The various schemes have arisen because various African governments have wanted to control the landing stations – that is the point onshore where the cables land. Anders Comstedt, a former CEO of a European fibre infrastructure company that sold to anyone on equal conditions, say the major issues currently seems to be landing rights and termination of international connectivity/traffic as seen from the side of the respective cable projects, and access to the landing station and the international connectivity from all operators in any country on non-discrimination conditions, as this point may be controlled by a local dominant player.

The Planned Cables

1) EASCS (The East African Submarine Cable System): This is an initiative of various telecom companies in eastern and southern Africa, but some governments have been working through the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) attempting to supervise its construction and management. The 9,900 km cable would run from South Africa up to Sudan.

2) Teams (The East African Marine System): Teams will be owned by the Kenya Government (up to 40%), while Etilsat of the United Arab Emirates will hold a 20% stake. Private investors - yet to be secured - will hold 40%. The cable will run from Fujairah in the UAE to Mombasa, Kenya.

3) The Kenya Data Network-Reliance cable: In mid 2006, KDN announced it had clinched a deal with India’s Flag Telecom to construct a $115 million link between Yemen and Mombasa - and later stretch to South Africa. Flag Telecom owns and manages an extensive optic fibre network spanning Asia, Europe, the Middle East and USA, and hoped then to connect Mombasa by September 2007 to a network it is erecting in the Gulf region.

4) The SEACOM marine cable system: The planned 13,000 km undersea fiber optic network will provide connectivity between South Africa, Madagascar, Mozambique, Tanzania, Kenya, India and Europe. Owned by the American Heracles Telecom, SEACOM’s planned commissioning date is the first quarter of 2009. The SEACOM cable System is being designed with a nominal capacity of 1,280 Gb/s comprised of two fibre pairs expected to connect South Africa, Mozambique, Madagascar, Tanzania and Kenya to India and Europe (with an option for UAE).

Source: Fibre for Africa - Opening up Affordable Bandwidth in Africa