COMTEL Project is a program of the

Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) is a regional economic community in Africa with twenty-one member states stretching from Tunisia to Eswatini. COMESA was formed in December 1994, replacing a Preferential Trade Area whic ...

(COMESA) aimed at creating a regional

telecommunication Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than that fe ...

s infrastructure for the 21 member states via a

fiber Fiber or fibre (from la, fibra, links=no) is a natural or artificial substance that is significantly longer than it is wide. Fibers are often used in the manufacture of other materials. The strongest engineering materials often incorporate ...

backbone. This will help member states get rid of

satellite A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioisotope ...

links they currently use for their transit traffic between themselves going via Europe, America and Asia.

Implementation

COMESA reportedly made a deal with Anderberg-Ericsson Consortium of Mauritius as the strategic equity partner but it was later reported that Ericsson would not become an equity partner. On 26 February 2007 it was reported that the COMTEL Project had stalled and that individual member countries would develop their own regional telecommunication infrastructures.

References

Telecommunications in Africa International organizations based in Africa {{telecomm-stub