Nigeria-Cameroon submarine cable goes live
MainOne has announced that the high capacity Nigerian-Cameroon Submarine Cable System (NCSCS) has been completed and is now live.
The new submarine cable system, which connects Lagos, Nigeria and Kribi, Cameroon, will address increasing demand for reliable broadband connectivity, which is a key component of Cameroon’s strategic plan to provide internet access to its citizens via a National Broadband Network.
The submarine cable installation, which commenced in June 2015 following a tripartite partnership between MainOne, The Ministry of Post and Telecommunications, Cameroon and Huawei Marine Networks, had investment provided by the Cameroon Government.
The six-pair, 1,100 kilometre repeater submarine cable system will deliver capacity of up to 12.8 terabytes per second to broadband users in Cameroon and is being lit with 40 gigabyte capacity from day one. This extension is expected to boost Cameroon’s extremely low fixed broadband penetration, currently estimated to be roughly five percent.
MainOne’s Regional Executive for West Africa, Kazeem Oladepo, said: “This is an excellent addition to our network and is added proof of our commitment to expand broadband, improve quality and drive down cost of internet services in West Africa. As part of our strategy to boost West Africa’s economic and commercial development, we will continue to make deliberate and significant investments in connectivity projects that will facilitate increased access to broadband.
“The proposed extension of our submarine system to the Niger Delta region is particularly important for further development of the oil producing region of Nigeria, and will aid the region’s rapid transition from an oil-dependent economy to a knowledge-focused one.”
“We have seen phenomenal changes across other areas with internet infrastructure such as Lagos, Nigeria where Yaba’s Silicon Hub continues to provide opportunities for jobs, increased investor funding, and enhanced social entrepreneurship which is pushing the frontiers of eCommerce in Nigeria. Nigeria’s South-South region and Cameroon now have the platform to leverage the same quality of access to the Internet to catalyse social, economic and technological development.”
Speaking on the milestone, David Nkoto Emane, General Manager, Cameroon Telecommunications Corporation (CAMTEL), said: “The NCSCS system enables us to provide users with faster bandwidth connectivity at a significantly lower cost. By providing direct connection to Nigeria, the cable system will also serve to enhance Cameroon’s position as the major bandwidth hub in the region and internationally to Europe and beyond.”
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