Seacom, the first undersea cable providing fibre connectivity to the East Africa, is enabling affordable access to the internet to millions of people. Recently, a key contributor to the development of fibre optics technology, Charles K Kao, was one of the winners of the 2009 Physics Nobel Prize. 

View the report

View the full Press Release

SEACOM today announced that its 1,28 Terabytes per second (Tb/s), 17,000 kilometres, submarine fibre optic cable system linking south and east Africa to global networks via India and Europe has been completed and commissioned. Backhauls linking Johannesburg, Nairobi and Kampala with the coastal landing stations have been established and SEACOM is also working with its national partners to commission the final links to Kigali and Addis Ababa shortly.

The launch of SEACOM opens up unprecedented opportunities, at a fraction of the current cost, as government, business leaders and citizens can now use the network as the platform to compete globally, drive economic growth and enhance the quality of life across the continent.

Website: http://www.seacom.mu/
Blog: www.seacomblog.com
SMR: http://www.seacom.socialmediarelease.co.za/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Seacom/100372437436
YouTube: www.youtube.com/seacomlive
Twitter: SeacomLive

View the full statement

African Satellite Program will Launch Intelsat New Dawn by Late 2010

Pembroke, Bermuda, and Johannesburg, South Africa, 9 December 2008.

Intelsat, Ltd., the world’s leading provider of fixed satellite services, today announced a joint venture with a South African investor group led by Convergence Partners that will utilize project financing to build and launch a new satellite into the 33 East orbital location, ideally positioned to serve the African continent. The satellite, to be called “Intelsat New Dawn,” will feature a payload optimized to deliver wireless backhaul, broadband and television programming to the continent and is expected to enter service in early 2011. The satellite will be operated and marketed as part of the global Intelsat fleet.

Africa has been one of the fastest growing regions for fixed satellite services in recent years, fueled by demand for critical infrastructure from communications providers and television programmers. Wireless telecom operators, broadband service providers, corporate network service providers and direct-to-home television operators have experienced growth along with the economic development of the region. The New Dawn joint venture was established to provide solutions for African communication needs, and is expected to deliver new capacity for voice, wireless backhaul, Internet and media applications.

View the full Statement

Convergence Partners Investments, a Black Economic Empowerment investment company focusing on the Technology, Media and Telecommunications sector, announced today that it had taken a stake in Integrat, a major South African Wireless Applications Service Provider (WASP) Aggregator with related interests in digital content, online platforms and other ancillary activities.

WASPs are companies that connect to the cellular operators to provide services to the networks’ clients, usually in the form of premium-rated Short Message Services (SMS). As an Aggregator, Integrat supports its WASP customers with best-of-breed, locally developed, solutions offerings to seamlessly connect into SA’s highly regulated mobile networks in a matter of days, rather than months. Integrat’s offerings are globally competitive and have evolved over the years to include various Value Added Services, such as content manager, campaigns manager, mobile payment systems and other mobile handset-focused services. These products allow customers to deliver services within a very short time and without having to take responsibility for any development.

View the full Statement