Wacs finally in South Africa
FRIDAY saw the commercial launch of the much-anticipated ultra high-capacity West Africa Cable System (Wacs) linking Southern and Western Africa to Europe – some six years after multinational telecommunications group MTN committed more than $100-million (R820-million) to the project which is expected to meet demand for fast, efficient broadband in Africa.
The 17 200km fibre optic submarine cable system will effectively raise South Africa’s current broadband capacity by more than 500 Gigabits per second (Gbps).
This will be a much-needed boost to MTN in South Africa, where consumer appetite for data quadrupled during 2011, with data consumption (excluding SMS) up by about 200% year-on-year.
In the same period, smartphones usage increased by 128% to 3.6 million users, while data users soared to 10.9 million.
Wacs spans the west coast of Africa, starting at Yzerfontein near Cape Town, South Africa, and terminating in the UK. The system will enable MTN operations to enjoy seamless connectivity into the rest of Europe and the Americas.
The 4-fibre pair system was constructed at an approximate total project cost of $650-million (R5.3-billion).
MTN’S Global Carrier Services’ commercial relations head for the Wacs Consortium, Trevor Martins, says MTN identified the most efficient manner to advance the initiative to construct the Wacs system was through a collaborative infrastructure co-build consortium investment model of like-minded operators.
“It was critical for MTN to ensure direct access into its markets in West Africa, and linking efficient system design with multiple landing points.
“Accordingly, Wacs has 15 established terminal stations along its route, including Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Republic of Congo and Namibia – all countries where MTN has a presence.”
Martins adds “MTN is the largest investor in Wacs, with commitments in excess of $100- million (R820-million), comprising $90-million (R738-million) system capital contribution and additional capital investments towards the construction of cable landing facilities in Cameroon, Ghana, Nigeria and Cote d’ivoire.”
MTN’S investment in Wacs forms part of the group’s global portfolio of submarine cable investments, managed by MTN Dubai Global Carrier Services.
In addition to complementing other existing cable systems in the region, as well as supply first-time fibre connectivity to several West African countries, Wacs will provide much-needed diversity for large volume broadband traffic from South Africa to Europe.
“The impact of MTN’S investments in Africa is farreaching,” says Kanaragaratnam Lambotharan, chief technology officer at MTN South Africa.
As a forward-thinking organisation, the MTN Group had realised early on investing in Wacs would bring much-needed cost-effective broadband capacity to the continent, bolstering Africa’s efforts to achieve the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals with its objective of bridging the digital divide by enabling millions of Africa’s populace to be part of the digital age.
“Broadband has immense potential to change the socioeconomic landscape of African countries,” Michael Ikpoki, chief executive of MTN Ghana, said.
“Over the last year, our operations in West Africa have experienced good growth in data volumes, and this trend is repeated throughout our other operations across the continent.
“This is a strong indication of the huge latent demand for access to quality broadband services and facilities throughout Africa.
“The introduction of Wacs will address both technological shortfalls experienced by most of Africa’s disadvantaged communities, and stimulate economic growth in those countries.” — I-net Bridge