The Eastern Africa Submarine Cable System (EASSy) is an

undersea The underwater environment is the region below the surface of, and immersed in, liquid water in a natural or artificial feature (called a body of water), such as an ocean, sea, lake, pond, reservoir, river, canal, or aquifer. Some characterist ...

fibre optic An optical fiber, or optical fibre in Commonwealth English, is a flexible, transparent fiber made by drawing glass (silica) or plastic to a diameter slightly thicker than that of a human hair. Optical fibers are used most often as a means ...

cable system connecting countries in

Eastern Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical ...

to the rest of the world. EASSy runs from

Mtunzini Mtunzini ( Zulu: ''eMthunzini'', from ''umthunzi'' meaning "a place in the shade") is a small coastal town that is situated almost exactly halfway along KwaZulu-Natal's coastline in South Africa approximately 140 km north of Durban. In 2011, ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

Port Sudan Port Sudan ( ar, بور سودان, Būr Sūdān) is a port city in eastern Sudan, and the capital of the state of Red Sea. , it has 489,725 residents. Located on the Red Sea, Port Sudan is recognized as Sudan's main seaport and the source of 90 ...

in Sudan, with landing points in nine countries and is connected to at least ten landlocked countries — which will no longer have to rely on

satellite Internet access Satellite Internet access is Internet access provided through communication satellites. Modern consumer grade satellite Internet service is typically provided to individual users through geostationary satellites that can offer relatively high d ...

to carry voice and data services. EASSy was the highest capacity system serving sub-Saharan Africa until the commissioning of WACS. It has a 2 fibre-pair configuration with a design capacity of more than 10

terabit The bit is the most basic unit of information in computing and digital communications. The name is a portmanteau of binary digit. The bit represents a logical state with one of two possible values. These values are most commonly represente ...

per second (Tbit/s). It is the first to deliver direct connectivity between east Africa and Europe / North America. It is the only system with built-in resilience end-to-end. EASSy interconnects with multiple international submarine cable networks for onward connectivity to Europe, the Americas, the Middle East and Asia. The project, partially funded by the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...

, was initiated in January 2003, when a handful of companies investigated its feasibility. The cable entered service on 16 July 2010, with commercial service starting on 30 July 2010.

Project milestones

*MoU signature – December 2003 *Detailed feasibility study – March 2004 *Data gathering meeting – June 2005 *C&MA drafting finalization – March 2006 *Supply contract award – September 2006 *Registration/incorporation of SPV – January 2007 *Construction and maintenance agreement (Shareholders' Agreement) Signature (C&MA) – 12 October 2006 to 12 February 2007 *Financial closure – March 2007 *Supply contract signature – March 2007 *Construction Started – March 2008 *Cable manufacture complete – November 2009 *Marine laying commencing – December 2009 *Construction complete – April 2010 *Live – July 2010

Telecommunications companies of participating nations

West Indian Ocean Cable Company West Indian Ocean Cable Company (WIOCC) operates as a wholesaler, providing capacity to international telecos, OTTs, Content Providers and internet service providers within and out of Africa. WIOCC offers carriers connectivity to over 550 location ...

br>WIOCC
comprising: ** Botswana Fibre Networks (BOFINET) ** DALKOM Somalia **

Djibouti Telecom Djibouti Telecom (Djibouti Télécommunication Co.) is the government-run telecommunications monopoly in Djibouti, Djibouti. It provides landline, mobile, and internet services to the general public. The firm has its head offices and outlets in the ...

Gilat Satcom Nigeria Gilat ( he, גִּילַת, , Joy) is a moshav in southern Israel. Located in the western Negev desert between Beersheba and Ofakim, it falls under the jurisdiction of Merhavim Regional Council. In it had a population of . History The mosh ...

** Seychelles Cable System ** Lesotho Communications Authority ** Onatel Burundi ** TMCEL Mozambique **

Telkom Kenya Telkom Kenya is an integrated telecommunications provider in Kenya. It was previously a part of the Kenya Posts and Telecommunications Corporation (KPTC) which was the sole provider of both postal and telecommunication services. The company wa ...

** Libyan Post Telecommunications & Information Technology Company (LPTIC) ** Liquid Telecom ** Uganda Telecom Limited ** Zantel Tanzania ** TelOne Zimbabwe *

MTN Group MTN Group Limited, formerly M-Cell, is a South African multinational mobile telecommunications company, operating in many African and Asian countries. Its head office is in Johannesburg. , MTN recorded 280 million subscribers, making it the ...

Sudatel Sudatel is a telecommunications and Internet service provider in Sudan. The company is responsible for the construction and maintenance of Sudan's telecom infrastructure. Sudatel is more than 60% owned by the Sudanese government; the remain ...

Sudan *

Vodacom Vodacom Group Limited is a South-Western African mobile communications company, providing voice, messaging, data and converged services to over 55 million customers. From its roots in South Africa, Vodacom has grown its operations to include ...

* Telkom South Africa *

Botswana Telecommunications Corporation Botswana Telecommunications Corporation (BTC) is a telecommunications and Internet service provider in Botswana, and is headquartered in Gaborone. It provides telecommunications services throughout the country. The company was formerly a gover ...

BT Group BT Group plc ( trading as BT and formerly British Telecom) is a British multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered in London, England. It has operations in around 180 countries and is the largest provider of fixed-line, bro ...

Global Marine Systems Global Marine Group is a British-headquartered specialist provider of installation, maintenance and repairs of submarine communications cable for the telecommunications, oil & gas and deep sea research industries. To this end, they operate their ...

*Comores Cables *Telma Madagascar *

Etisalat Etisalat by e& is an Emirati-based multinational telecommunications services provider, currently operating in 16 countries across Asia, the Middle East and Africa. It is the 18th largest mobile network operator in the world by number of subscri ...

*FT *

Mauritius Telecom Mauritius Telecom (MT) is a telecommunications company in Mauritius, a small republic in the Indian Ocean. The company had about 392,000 fixed line customers, 969,000 Mobile customers, 404,000 fibre ready homes, 178,000 iptv customers, 255,000 B ...

* STC Saudi Arabia *

Bharti Airtel Bharti Airtel Limited, commonly known as ( d/b/a) Airtel, is an Indian multinational telecommunications services company based in New Delhi. It operates in 18 countries across South Asia and Africa, as well as the Channel Islands. Curr ...

* Liquid Telecom *

Tanzania Telecommunications Company Limited Tanzania Telecommunications Corporation, formerly Tanzania Telecommunications Company Limited (TTCL), is the oldest and largest fixed line telecommunications company in Tanzania. The company comes forth from the former Tanzania Posts and Telec ...

Cable landing points

The

cable landing point A cable landing point is the location where a submarine or other underwater cable makes landfall. The term is most often used for the landfall points of submarine telecommunications cables and submarine power cables. The landing will either be d ...

s are: *

, Sudan *

Djibouti Djibouti, ar, جيبوتي ', french: link=no, Djibouti, so, Jabuuti officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Re ...

Mogadishu Mogadishu (, also ; so, Muqdisho or ; ar, مقديشو ; it, Mogadiscio ), locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port connecting traders across the Indian Oc ...

, Somalia *

Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of the British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital city status. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...

, Kenya * Moroni, Comoros * Dar es Salaam, Tanzania *

Toliary Toliara (also known as ''Toliary'', ; formerly ''Tuléar'') is a city in Madagascar. It is the capital of the Atsimo-Andrefana region, located 936 km southwest of national capital Antananarivo. The current spelling of the name was adopted ...

, Madagascar *

Maputo Maputo (), formerly named Lourenço Marques until 1976, is the capital, and largest city of Mozambique. Located near the southern end of the country, it is within of the borders with Eswatini and South Africa. The city has a population of 1,08 ...

, Mozambique *

, South Africa

References

"Eastern Africa submarine cable delayed for one year"
''Sudan Tribune'', February 4, 2006

''The East African Standard'', May 17, 2006

''Infoworld'', June 12, 2006
"Alcatel Wins EASSy Contract"
''IT Web'', July 12, 2006
"Kenya aims for own internet cable"
''BBC News'', September 8, 2006 *

External links

EASSy official websiteWIOCC - largest EASSy investor
{{Submarine communications cables in the Indian Ocean East Africa Southern Africa Internet in Africa Submarine communications cables in the Indian Ocean Wide area networks 2010 establishments in Africa

Project milestones

Telecommunications companies of participating nations

Cable landing points

See also

References

External links