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Africa Coast to Europe (ACE) is an optical-fiber
submarine cable Submarine cable is any electrical cable that is laid on the seabed, although the term is often extended to encompass cables laid on the bottom of large freshwater bodies of water.
Examples include:
*Submarine communications cable
*Submarine power ...
system serving 24 countries on the Europe , west coast and south Africa, managed by a consortium of 20 members.
The ACE cable connects more than 450 million people, either directly for coastal countries or through land links for landlocked countries such as Mali
Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mal ...
and Niger
)
, official_languages =
, languages_type = National languagesEquatorial Guinea, Gambia, Guinea, Liberia, Mauritania, São Tomé and Príncipe and
The cable cost consortium members $700 million:
* ACE Gabon
*Bénin ACE GIE
* Cable Consortium of Liberia
* Canalink
* Dolphin Telecom
* Gambia Submarine Cable
* GUILAB SA
* International Mauritania Telecom
* MTN Global Connect
* Orange (France)
* Orange Cameroun
* Orange Côte d'Ivoire
* Orange Mali
* Orange Niger
*Gestor de Infraestructuras de Telecomunicaciones de Guinea Ecuatorial
*SCGB
* Sonatel
* STP Cabo
Segment 1
*
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierr ...
.
Agreements are being put in place to allow the arrival of other operators in countries along the ACE cable route. Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau ( ; pt, Guiné-Bissau; ff, italic=no, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫 𞤄𞤭𞤧𞤢𞥄𞤱𞤮, Gine-Bisaawo, script=Adlm; Mandinka: ''Gine-Bisawo''), officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau ( pt, República da Guiné-Bissau, links=no ), ...
is the next country to be connected to the submarine cable.
ACE Consortium consists of telecommunications operators and member countries that have invested in the total 700 million dollars project, sometimes with the financial support of the World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...
. The consortium agreement was signed on 5 June 2010 and on 15 December 2012, this 17,000 km-long cable was put into service for the first time. The official inauguration ceremony was held in Banjul, Gambia, on 19 December 2012.
The 4 to 5 cms diameter cable runs at around 6,000m below the sea level. The maximum capacity of the entire system is increased from 12.8 Tbps in the design to 20 Tbps.
It has been manufactured by Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN) and laid by ships from ASN and Orange Marine.
ACE consortium
The cable cost consortium members $700 million:
* ACE Gabon
*Bénin ACE GIE
* Cable Consortium of Liberia
* Canalink
* Dolphin Telecom
* Gambia Submarine Cable
* GUILAB SA
* International Mauritania Telecom
* MTN Global Connect
* Orange (France)
* Orange Cameroun
* Orange Côte d'Ivoire
* Orange Mali
* Orange Niger
*Gestor de Infraestructuras de Telecomunicaciones de Guinea Ecuatorial
*SCGB
* Sonatel
* STP Cabo
Landing points
Segment 1
* France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
, Penmarch
Penmarch (, ) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany, northwestern France.Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
, Carcavelos
* Espagne, île de Tenerife
* Mauritania, Nouakchott
, image_skyline = Nouakchott.jpg
, image_caption = City view of Nouakchott
, pushpin_map = Mauritania#Arab world#Africa
, pushpin_relief = 1
, mapsize =
, map_caption ...
* Senegal
Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...
, Dakar
Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from :wo:daqaar, daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar ...
Segment 2
* Senegal
Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...
, Dakar
Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from :wo:daqaar, daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar ...
* Gambia, Banjul
* Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau ( ; pt, Guiné-Bissau; ff, italic=no, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫 𞤄𞤭𞤧𞤢𞥄𞤱𞤮, Gine-Bisaawo, script=Adlm; Mandinka: ''Gine-Bisawo''), officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau ( pt, República da Guiné-Bissau, links=no ), ...
, Suro (coming up)
* Guinea, Conakry
* Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierr ...
, Freetown
Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and po ...
* Liberia, Monrovia
Monrovia () is the capital city of the West African country of Liberia. Founded in 1822, it is located on Cape Mesurado on the Atlantic coast and as of the 2008 census had 1,010,970 residents, home to 29% of Liberia’s total population. As th ...
* Ivory Coast, Abidjan
Abidjan ( , ; N’ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the economic capital of the Ivory Coast. As of the 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of overall population of the country, making it the sixth most populous city p ...
Segment 3
* Ivory Coast, Abidjan
Abidjan ( , ; N’ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the economic capital of the Ivory Coast. As of the 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of overall population of the country, making it the sixth most populous city p ...
* Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
, Accra
* Benin
Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the nort ...
, Cotonou
* Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
, Lagos
Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 fo ...
* Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
, Kribi
Kribi is a beach resort and sea port in Cameroon.
Location
The coastal town of Kribi lies on the Gulf of Guinea, in Océan Department, South Province, at the mouth of the Kienké River. This location, lies approximately , by road, south of ...
* Equatorial Guinea, Bata
* Gabon
Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the nort ...
, Libreville
* Sao Tomé et principe, São Tomé
São Tomé is the capital and largest city of the Central African island country of São Tomé and Príncipe. Its name is Portuguese for " Saint Thomas". Founded in the 15th century, it is one of Africa's oldest colonial cities.
History
Álvar ...
Segment 4 (The last segment is in service - 1 June 2021)
* South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
Technical features
This 17 000-kilometers long cable is the only one connecting 24 west African and European countries. The ACE consortium members are organized according to a global access concept: multiple investors in one landing station. ACE marine routes have a low history of fault and a time-proof technology. The cable is able to adopt newer transponder technology. Technical features are as below : * PoP-to-PoP connection providing access to major cities in Europe and Africa (Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
, Lisbon, Cape Town
Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
)
* 100G technology proof
* Design capacity increased = 20 terabytes per second
* Lit capacity = 1.6 terabytes per second
* Initial capacity 200 Gbit/s on segment 1, 160 Gbit/s on segments 2 and 3
* Longest DLS = 4400 kilometres (Penmarch - Dakar)
* Low latency (express and omnibus fibres)
* Uses wavelength division multiplexing
In fiber-optic communications, wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) is a technology which multiplexes a number of optical carrier signals onto a single optical fiber by using different wavelengths (i.e., colors) of laser light. This techniqu ...
(the most advanced for submarine cables)
See also
List of international submarine communications cables
This is a list of international submarine communications cables. It does not include domestic cable systems, such as those on the coastlines of Japan, Italy, and Brazil. All the cable systems listed below have landing points in two or more coun ...
Individual cable systems off the west coast of Africa include:
* ATLANTIS-2
* GLO-1 The GLO-1 ( Globacom-1) submarine communications cable is a cable system along the west coast of Africa between Nigeria and the UK, owned by Nigerian telecoms operator Globacom.
The submarine cable system is 9,800 km long, and became operation ...
* Main One
* SAT-2
* SAT-3/WASC
SAT-3/WASC or South Atlantic 3/West Africa Submarine Cable is a submarine communications cable linking Portugal and Spain to South Africa, with connections to several West African countries along the route. It forms part of the SAT-3/WASC/SAFE cabl ...
* WACS
References
External linksACE-Africa Coast to Europe website
{{Submarine communications cables in the Atlantic Ocean
Submarine communications cables in the North Atlantic Ocean
Submarine communications cables in the South Atlantic Ocean
2012 establishments in Africa
2012 establishments in France
2012 establishments in Portugal