All in a twist
Only a handful of African countries have so far signed up to back a US$280m telecommunications cable that is crucial to improve bandwidth in SA ahead of the 2010 soccer World Cup. But the SA government is adamant that the East Africa Submarine System (Eassy) fibre-optic undersea cable, intended to link SA with East Africa and the Middle East, will go ahead.
The failure by countries to sign up for Eassy’s construction, coupled with reports that Kenya plans to build a rival system, have cast doubt on the feasibility of the project. The cable route is from Mtunzini in KwaZulu Natal to the Red Sea, where it will connect to other international submarine cables.
About 30 operators and countries are in the consortium that will finance and own the cable.
Eassy is seen as critical in bringing down SA’s high international telecom prices. It will also be needed to transmit high-definition video signals from the World Cup to global broadcasters.
Lyndall Shope-Mafole, director-general in the department of communications, is adamant that Eassy will go ahead. Of the 15 or so countries that have actively taken part in the project’s development, only seven have signed up to date: SA, Lesotho, Malawi, Rwanda, Madagascar, Tanzania and Uganda.
The deadline has been extended to end-November in the hope that the countries that are wavering will sign up. But Kenya, which has so far declined to sign, announced last week that it would invest about $110m in a new cable linking its coastal city of Mombasa with Fujairah in the Gulf of Oman.
Kenyan officials said the cable would also serve Tanzania, Uganda, Sudan (which already has a cable link to Jedda in Saudi Arabia), Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia and Somalia. The proposed Kenyan project would be a joint venture between the government and the private sector.
Wire agency reports suggest that Eassy has hit a snag because of bickering between Kenya and SA over financing, ownership and how much access to the cable will cost. Kenya has reportedly accused SA of trying to dominate the project and of insisting that governments, rather than private operators, manage the 9 900 km cable.
Shope-Mafole denies quarrelling with the Kenyan delegation. "Kenya has never told me it is unhappy with our proposals. I am confident it will come on board," she says. But, she adds, even if no additional signatories are found, the cable system will go ahead and will be financially practical.
Her determination is welcome news to SA companies looking for an alternative to Telkom, whose monopoly over international bandwidth has led to high prices for Internet access. At a recent meeting with President Thabo Mbeki, software billionaire Mark Shuttleworth welcomed moves by government to play a more central role in ensuring access to affordable international bandwidth.
But Telkom, for one, has expressed concern at developments. Last week CEO Papi Molotsane warned that Telkom would abandon its plan to invest in Eassy if it could not be guaranteed a reasonable financial return.
Unlike the Sat-3/Wasc/Safe system that connects SA with Europe and the Far East, Eassy is an "open access" system, which means any company licensed to carry international telecom traffic can get access to it.
Prices that telecom operators can charge to lease capacity on the cable are also likely to be regulated. As Telkom is one of the largest participants in Eassy, its input could be well above $10m.
Telkom says it is negotiating with officials of African countries to work out how much profit margin it can charge.
Shope-Mafole plays down Molotsane’s remarks. She says telecom operators are seldom entirely happy with policies and views his comments as a negotiating tactic.
Inet-Bridge
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