TechCentralTechCentral
    Facebook Twitter YouTube LinkedIn
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentralTechCentral
    NEWSLETTER
    • News

      Rain in embarrassing climbdown over Telkom statement

      16 August 2022

      Coal miner Seriti plans R12-billion Mpumalanga wind farm

      16 August 2022

      Signal warns attackers may have made off with users’ phone numbers

      16 August 2022

      South Africa’s ‘silent revolution’ as those with cash go solar

      15 August 2022

      SA coal giant Seriti Resources in pivot to renewables

      15 August 2022
    • World

      Semiconductor boom turns to bust

      16 August 2022

      Tencent plans to offload R400-billion Meituan stake: sources

      16 August 2022

      Ether leaps higher on verge of Merge

      16 August 2022

      Institutions eye crypto but retail investors remain nervous

      15 August 2022

      Tencent woes mount, even after $560-billion selloff

      12 August 2022
    • In-depth

      African unicorn Flutterwave battles fires on multiple fronts

      11 August 2022

      The length of Earth’s days has been increasing – and no one knows why

      7 August 2022

      As Facebook fades, the Mad Men of advertising stage a comeback

      2 August 2022

      Crypto breaks the rules. That’s the point

      27 July 2022

      E-mail scams are getting chillingly personal

      17 July 2022
    • Podcasts

      Qush on infosec: why prevention is always better than cure

      11 August 2022

      e4’s Adri Führi on encouraging more women into tech careers

      10 August 2022

      How South Africa can woo more women into tech

      4 August 2022

      Book and check-in via WhatsApp? FlySafair is on it

      28 July 2022

      Interview: Why Dell’s next-gen PowerEdge servers change the game

      28 July 2022
    • Opinion

      No reason South Africa should have a shortage of electricity: Ramaphosa

      11 July 2022

      Ntshavheni’s bias against the private sector

      8 July 2022

      South Africa can no longer rely on Eskom alone

      4 July 2022

      Has South Africa’s advertising industry lost its way?

      21 June 2022

      Rob Lith: What Icasa’s spectrum auction means for SA companies

      13 June 2022
    • Company Hubs
      • 1-grid
      • Africa Data Centres
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Amplitude
      • Atvance Intellect
      • Axiz
      • BOATech
      • CallMiner
      • Digital Generation
      • E4
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • IBM
      • Kyocera Document Solutions
      • Microsoft
      • Nutanix
      • One Trust
      • Pinnacle
      • Skybox Security
      • SkyWire
      • Tarsus on Demand
      • Videri Digital
      • Zendesk
    • Sections
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud computing
      • Consumer electronics
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Energy
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Motoring and transport
      • Public sector
      • Science
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home»News»Why PCCW is backing Africa-1 cable

    Why PCCW is backing Africa-1 cable

    News By Agency Staff25 April 2016
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email

    africa-earth-640

    Growing trade between Africa and Asia has prompted talk of a new subsea broadband cable along Africa’s eastern coastline, says Hong Kong ICT firm PCCW.

    Last week, PCCW said it along with Telkom, MTN Saudi Telecom Company and Telecom Egypt signed a memorandum of understanding to build Africa-1.

    The Africa-1 broadband system is planned to stretch 12 000km along Africa’s eastern coastline towards Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Pakistan and could go live next year.

    Last year, South Africa’s deputy president, Cyril Ramaphosa, said that trade flows between Africa and Asia had increased over the years, totalling US$423bn in 2013.

    “As the trade links between Asia and Africa, and between the rest of the world and Africa, have continued to grow, we have responded by increasing both the capacity on our network and the services delivered across it,” PCCW spokesman Ivan Ho said.

    “We have continued to invest in the continent, both in terms of submarine cable capacity and in terrestrial connectivity linking the landlocked countries in Africa to high-speed subsea capacity.

    “Africa-1 is a natural extension of our network strategy which will help to address the increasing capacity demands of the Asia-Africa trade corridor with better levels of reliability, connecting people and businesses in some of the world’s fastest growing economies,” said Ho.

    PCCW has increased its presence in Africa over the years. In 2014, it announced that it planned to provide telecoms and technology services for the R84bn Zendai smart city project in Modderfontein, Johannesburg. Last year, PCCW also launched video-on-demand service ONTAPtv.com in South Africa.

    Cable debate

    But talk of Africa-1 has sparked industry debate as Chris Wood, CEO of African connectivity wholesaler WIOCC and co-chair of the Eassy cable consortium, said last week that Africa-1 is “totally unnecessary”.

    Wood said that the likes of Seacom and EASSy currently provide more than enough broadband capacity to Africa. Seacom, Eassy and the West Africa Cable System have been connected to Africa since 2009.

    Telkom, last week, also said that it hasn’t committed financially to Africa-1 yet.

    When asked about whether there is sufficient demand for the cable, PCCW’s Ho did not answer, instead saying the project is in its planning stages.

    “The Africa-1 cable is still in the planning stage, and the consortium shall release further news, information and development at appropriate stages,” said Ho.

    Fin24

    Africa-1 Chris Wood Cyril Ramaphosa Eassy MTN PCCW PCCW Global Seacom Telkom Wacs
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email
    Previous ArticleNanomachines that could change the world
    Next Article Eskom approves fleet renewal plan

    Related Posts

    Rain in embarrassing climbdown over Telkom statement

    16 August 2022

    Coal miner Seriti plans R12-billion Mpumalanga wind farm

    16 August 2022

    Signal warns attackers may have made off with users’ phone numbers

    16 August 2022
    Add A Comment

    Comments are closed.

    Promoted

    HPE SimpliVity: addressing SMBs’ data conundrums

    16 August 2022

    Digital transformation – don’t get caught unprepared

    16 August 2022

    Seven reasons your business needs IP surveillance cameras

    15 August 2022
    Opinion

    No reason South Africa should have a shortage of electricity: Ramaphosa

    11 July 2022

    Ntshavheni’s bias against the private sector

    8 July 2022

    South Africa can no longer rely on Eskom alone

    4 July 2022

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2022 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.