Seacom has partnered with a company called Indoi to build a new, US$150m (R2,2bn) telecommunications cable system to connect Mauritius to Africa and the rest of the world.

IOX Cable, a subsidiary of Indoi, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Seacom to build an undersea cable system called the IOX Cable System.

It will be the third independent cable system connecting Mauritius to the rest of the continent.

The cable will “reinforce Mauritius’s status as an emerging innovation and technology hub in sub-Saharan Africa”, Seacom said in a statement.

The IOX Cable System will be the first open-access cable system in Mauritius, open to all licensed operators. The design of the IOX undersea cable system will allow it to connect to future undersea cables on the east coast of Africa.

“The cable will enable the African and Indian business communities to connect seamlessly across a fast and reliable digital infrastructure, ranging from undersea cable to data centres and cloud platforms,” Seacom said in the statement. “It will also enhance the broadband infrastructure in Mauritius, in turn supporting and driving new digital economic models.”