EASSy
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The Eastern Africa Submarine Cable System (EASSy) is an
undersea The underwater environment is the region below the surface of, and immersed in, liquid water in a natural or artificial feature (called a body of water), such as an ocean, sea, lake, pond, reservoir, river, canal, or aquifer. Some characterist ...
fibre optic cable system connecting countries in
Eastern Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historica ...
to the rest of the world. EASSy runs from Mtunzini in
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 ...
to
Port Sudan Port Sudan ( ar, بور سودان, Būr Sūdān) is a port city in eastern Sudan, and the capital of the state of Red Sea. , it has 489,725 residents. Located on the Red Sea, Port Sudan is recognized as Sudan's main seaport and the source of 90% ...
in Sudan, with landing points in nine countries and is connected to at least ten landlocked countries — which will no longer have to rely on satellite Internet access to carry voice and data services. EASSy was the highest capacity system serving sub-Saharan Africa until the commissioning of WACS. It has a 2 fibre-pair configuration with a design capacity of more than 10 
terabit The bit is the most basic unit of information in computing and digital communications. The name is a portmanteau of binary digit. The bit represents a logical state with one of two possible values. These values are most commonly represented a ...
per second (Tbit/s). It is the first to deliver direct connectivity between east Africa and Europe / North America. It is the only system with built-in resilience end-to-end. EASSy interconnects with multiple international submarine cable networks for onward connectivity to Europe, the Americas, the Middle East and Asia. The project, partially funded by 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 ...
, was initiated in January 2003, when a handful of companies investigated its feasibility. The cable entered service on 16 July 2010, with commercial service starting on 30 July 2010.


Project milestones

*MoU signature – December 2003 *Detailed feasibility study – March 2004 *Data gathering meeting – June 2005 *C&MA drafting finalization – March 2006 *Supply contract award – September 2006 *Registration/incorporation of SPV – January 2007 *Construction and maintenance agreement (Shareholders' Agreement) Signature (C&MA) – 12 October 2006 to 12 February 2007 *Financial closure – March 2007 *Supply contract signature – March 2007 *Construction Started – March 2008 *Cable manufacture complete – November 2009 *Marine laying commencing – December 2009 *Construction complete – April 2010 *Live – July 2010


Telecommunications companies of participating nations

* West Indian Ocean Cable Companybr>WIOCC
comprising: ** Botswana Fibre Networks (BOFINET) ** DALKOM Somalia **
Djibouti Telecom Djibouti Telecom (Djibouti Télécommunication Co.) is the government-run telecommunications monopoly in Djibouti, Djibouti. It provides landline, mobile, and internet services to the general public. The firm has its head offices and outlets in the ...
** Gilat Satcom Nigeria ** Seychelles Cable System ** Lesotho Communications Authority ** Onatel Burundi ** TMCEL Mozambique **
Telkom Kenya Telkom Kenya is an integrated telecommunications provider in Kenya. It was previously a part of the Kenya Posts and Telecommunications Corporation (KPTC) which was the sole provider of both postal and telecommunication services. The company was ...
** Libyan Post Telecommunications & Information Technology Company (LPTIC) ** Liquid Telecom ** Uganda Telecom Limited ** Zantel Tanzania ** TelOne Zimbabwe *
MTN Group MTN Group Limited, formerly M-Cell, is a South African multinational mobile telecommunications company, operating in many African and Asian countries. Its head office is in Johannesburg. , MTN recorded 280 million subscribers, making it the ...
* Sudatel Sudan *
Vodacom Vodacom Group Limited is a South-Western African mobile communications company, providing voice, messaging, data and converged services to over 55 million customers. From its roots in South Africa, Vodacom has grown its operations to include ...
*
Telkom South Africa Telkom SA SOC Limited is a South African wireline and wireless telecommunications provider, operating in more than 38 countries across the African continent. Telkom is majority state-owned (55.3%) with the South African government owning 40.5% ...
*
Botswana Telecommunications Corporation Botswana Telecommunications Corporation (BTC) is a telecommunications and Internet service provider in Botswana, and is headquartered in Gaborone. It provides telecommunications services throughout the country. The company was formerly a gover ...
*
BT Group BT Group plc ( trading as BT and formerly British Telecom) is a British multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered in London, England. It has operations in around 180 countries and is the largest provider of fixed-line, bro ...
* Global Marine Systems *Comores Cables *Telma Madagascar * Etisalat *FT * Mauritius Telecom * STC Saudi Arabia *
Bharti Airtel Bharti Airtel Limited, commonly known as (d/b/a) Airtel, is an Indian multinational telecommunications services company based in New Delhi. It operates in 18 countries across South Asia and Africa, as well as the Channel Islands. Currently, ...
*
Liquid Telecom A liquid is a nearly incompressible fluid that conforms to the shape of its container but retains a (nearly) constant volume independent of pressure. As such, it is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the others being solid, gas, a ...
*
Tanzania Telecommunications Company Limited Tanzania Telecommunications Corporation, formerly Tanzania Telecommunications Company Limited (TTCL), is the oldest and largest fixed line telecommunications company in Tanzania. The company comes forth from the former Tanzania Posts and Telec ...


Cable landing points

The
cable landing point A cable landing point is the location where a submarine or other underwater cable makes landfall. The term is most often used for the landfall points of submarine telecommunications cables and submarine power cables. The landing will either be d ...
s are: *
Port Sudan Port Sudan ( ar, بور سودان, Būr Sūdān) is a port city in eastern Sudan, and the capital of the state of Red Sea. , it has 489,725 residents. Located on the Red Sea, Port Sudan is recognized as Sudan's main seaport and the source of 90% ...
, Sudan *
Djibouti Djibouti, ar, جيبوتي ', french: link=no, Djibouti, so, Jabuuti officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red ...
*
Mogadishu Mogadishu (, also ; so, Muqdisho or ; ar, مقديشو ; it, Mogadiscio ), locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port connecting traders across the Indian Oc ...
, Somalia *
Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of the British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital city status. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...
, Kenya * Moroni, Comoros * Dar es Salaam, Tanzania * Toliary, Madagascar *
Maputo Maputo (), formerly named Lourenço Marques until 1976, is the capital, and largest city of Mozambique. Located near the southern end of the country, it is within of the borders with Eswatini and South Africa. The city has a population of 1,0 ...
, Mozambique * Mtunzini, South Africa


See also

*
ACE An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the c ...
* LION * 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 ...
* SAFE * SEACOM * TEAMS * WACS *
BRICS BRICS is an acronym for five leading emerging economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The first four were initially grouped as "BRIC" (or "the BRICs") in 2001 by Goldman Sachs economist Jim O'Neill, who coined the ter ...
* Australia West Express (AWE)


References


"Eastern Africa submarine cable delayed for one year"
''Sudan Tribune'', February 4, 2006

''The East African Standard'', May 17, 2006

''Infoworld'', June 12, 2006
"Alcatel Wins EASSy Contract"
''IT Web'', July 12, 2006
"Kenya aims for own internet cable"
''BBC News'', September 8, 2006 *


External links


EASSy official websiteWIOCC - largest EASSy investor
{{Submarine communications cables in the Indian Ocean East Africa Southern Africa Internet in Africa Submarine communications cables in the Indian Ocean Wide area networks 2010 establishments in Africa