The largest shareholder in the East Africa Submarine System (Eassy), the West Indian Ocean Cable Company (WIOCC), has entered into a strategic partnership with global telecommunications company Cable&Wireless Worldwide (C&W Worldwide).
WIOCC made the announcement last week and says the partnership was formed to improve the reliability, performance and reach of international connectivity in and out of Africa. WIOCC has a 30% stake in Eassy, the 10 000km, 4.72Tbps subsea fibre-optic cable that runs along the east coast of Africa.
Through C&W Worldwide, WIOCC has invested in two new submarine cable systems, namely the Europe India Gateway and West Africa Cable System, enabling WIOCC to create a ring around Africa and into Europe.
WIOCC CEO Chris Wood says the partnership is a strategic investment in high-capacity submarine cable systems that strengthens the company's existing “east+west coast diversity” proposition and provides greater network resilience and redundancy.
Wood adds that C&W Worldwide shares WIOCC's goal of investing in telecom infrastructure to support the growth of Africa, making it an “ideal partner”.
C&W Worldwide owns the UK's biggest fibre network dedicated to business users of telecommunications. The company has an international cable network spanning approximately 425 000km in length. It reaches across the Atlantic Ocean, through Europe and on to India and throughout Asia.
According to Diarmid Massey, C&W Worldwide MD for global wholesale and carrier, the company provisioned its first submarine cables in Africa more than 100 years ago. “We are committed to working with partners like WIOCC to foster the infrastructure needed for both international and local businesses to prosper in the burgeoning African market.”
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