Competing undersea cable projects creating redundancy risk

[Inertia]

Fixed-line telecoms group Telkom is still considering the nature of its participation in the so-called Eastern Africa Submarine System (EASSy), which has an estimated capital cost of around $240-million, and could be installed by the end of 2008. And the utility announced recently that it was advancing plans for a new high-capacity link up the west coast, which it is dubbing Sat 4.



CFO Kaushik Patel tells Engi-neering News that a study into the terabit-a-second Sat 4 cable is beyond feasibility investigation and is considered a “necessity”. Telkom estimates that current capacity, made up of Sat 2 and 3, will be absorbed, despite the fact that capacity on the route has been upgraded from 40 Gbit/s to 120 Gbit/s.

http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article.php?a_id=111288

 

[ShaunSA]

Yay! Another cable

Now if they would just go ahead and complete at least one!!!

 

[bekdik]

Yay! Another cable

Now if they would just go ahead and complete at least one!!!

If Telkom's involved they won't complete them separately. They'll join them end to end and wonder WTF happened!

 

[dominic]

the cables.......

1) EASSy (The East African Submarine Cable System): This is an initiative of various telecom companies in eastern and southern Africa, but some governments have been working through the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) attempting to supervise its construction and management.
The 9,900 km cable would run from South Africa up to Sudan.

2) Teams (The East African Marine System): Teams will be owned by the Kenya Government (up to 40%), while Etilsat of the United Arab Emirates will hold a 20% stake. Private investors - yet to be secured - will hold 40%. The cable will run from Fujairah in the UAE to Mombasa, Kenya.

3) The Kenya Data Network-Reliance cable: In mid 2006, KDN announced it had clinched a deal with India's Flag Telecom to construct a $115 million link between Yemen and Mombasa - and later stretch to South Africa. Flag Telecom owns and manages an extensive optic fibre network spanning Asia, Europe, the Middle East and USA, and hoped then to connect Mombasa by September 2007 to a network it is erecting in the Gulf region.

4) The SEACOM marine cable system: The planned 13,000 km undersea fiber optic network will provide connectivity between South Africa, Madagascar, Mozambique, Tanzania, Kenya, India and Europe. Owned by the American Heracles Telecom, SAECOM's planned commissioning date is the first quarter of 2009. The SEACOM cable System is being designed with a nominal capacity of 1,280 Gb/s comprised of two fibre pairs expected to connect South Africa, Mozambique, Madagascar, Tanzania and Kenya to India and Europe (with an option for UAE).

5) INFRACO: who knows but planned for the west coast...
See http://fibreforafrica.net

 

[dominic]

with regard to the involvement of any SA licensed entity can we highlight the following in the ECA:

(10) An electronic communications network service licensee may not enter into any agreement or other arrangement with any person for access to, or use of, any international electronic communications facilities, including submarine cables and satellites, that—
(a) contains an exclusivity provision;
(b) contains provisions that create undue barriers to access to and use of such international communication facilities; or
(c) otherwise restricts any party to such agreement or other arrangement from—
(i) leasing;
(ii) selling; or
(iii) otherwise entering into an agreement with any licensee under this Act or person providing services pursuant to a licence exemption for access to, and use of, such international electronic communications facilities.

 

[dominic]

Meanwhile, the Sat 4 announcement by Telkom comes as its Sat 3 exclusivity nears its end. From November 1, it becomes an ‘essential service’ and its consortium partners will be able to sell into the local market.

Patel says the revenue impact on Telkom has been estimated at between R200-million and R500-mil- lion, which is significant, given that Telkom’s current outgoing and incoming revenue is about R2-bil-lion on Sat 2 and Sat 3. “Although it becomes an essential facility, we could still buy back off that. There are 26 partners, which have commercial deals to share the profits. “We will still be able to supply the capacity to customers, but just at a lower margin,” Patel tells Engi-neering News.

1. it is "essential facility" not "essential service"
2. the minister has not declared SAT3 an essential facility - rather from 1 November any exclusivity provision in the SAT 3 agreements or arrangements is declared null and void...this flows from section 43(11)

Any exclusivity provision contained in any agreement or other arrangement that
is prohibited under subsection (10) is invalid from a date to be determined by the
Minister after consultation with relevant parties.

...the trick here is that she has asked ICASA to "urgently" declare all the facilities related to the cable as essential facilities [landing station, main links to metros etc]...ICASA still has quite a lot of process to go through before it can do this and i very much doubt this will be completed by 1 November

 

[risingtide]

Competing undersea cable projects creating redundancy risk

And up to now I thought that a little redundancy is a good thing!

2) Teams (The East African Marine System. ... The cable will run from Fujairah in the UAE to Mombasa, Kenya.

3) The Kenya Data Network-Reliance cable.

Both of these are of no use for South Africa.