Feb 28 2011
Telecom Namibia is set to link the southern African country to the consortium submarine system called West African Cable System (WACS) that links Africa to Europe.
The undersea fiber-optic cable, which was installed along the West African coast, delivered higher broadband connectivity for Namibia and its neighboring cities.
The WACS consortium includes 12 companies. They are Vodacom, Togo Telecom, Telkom SA, Telecom Namibia, Tata Communications/Neotel, Portugal Telecom/Cabo Verde Telecom, Office Congolais des Postes et Telecommunications, MTN, Congo Telecom, Cable & Wireless, Broadband Infraco and Angola Cables.
It is anticipated that the high-speed fiber-optic cable will help in reducing the cost for internet users. The cable will also be expanded to Botswana. According to media reports, Telecom Namibia has installed the required infrastructure to connect its Swakopmund’s landing station to the domestic network. The cable, which is installed in Swakopmund beach, was developed by Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks and Telecom Namibia.
Telecom Namibia anticipates that the commercial operation will be initiated in the Q2 of 2011 and hopes that the country will benefit from direct access to worldwide network cable network.
Telecom Namibia’s Managing Director, Frans Ndoroma stated that the 14,900 km WACS will provide direct connectivity between the UK, West Africa and Namibia.