West Indian Ocean Cable Company (WIOCC) operates as a

wholesaler Wholesaling or distributing is the sale of goods or merchandise to retailers; to industrial, commercial, institutional or other professional business users; or to other wholesalers (wholesale businesses) and related subordinated services. In g ...

, providing capacity to international telecos, OTTs, Content Providers and internet service providers within and out of Africa. WIOCC offers carriers connectivity to over 550 locations across 30 African countries – utilising more than of terrestrial fibre and of submarine fibre-optic cable. WIOCC's international network reach currently extends to 100 cities in 29 countries in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and more than 700 cities in 70 countries globally. The company was established in 2008 and is jointly owned by 14 major African telecom operators, with support from five international development financial institutions:

International Finance Corporation The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is an international financial institution that offers investment, advisory, and asset-management services to encourage private-sector development in less developed countries. The IFC is a member of t ...

(IFC),

African Development Bank The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) or (BAD) is a multilateral development finance institution headquartered in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, since September 2014. The AfDB is a financial provider to African governments and private companies i ...

(AfDB), French Development Bank (AFD), German Development Bank (KfW) and

European Investment Bank The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the European Union's investment bank and is owned by the EU Member States. It is one of the largest supranational lenders in the world. The EIB finances and invests both through equity and debt solutions ...

(EIB). WIOCC's CEO (from October 2008 – Present) is Chris Wood. WIOCC is registered in the Republic of Mauritius with offices in Nairobi, Kenya and Johannesburg, South Africa.

Shareholders

WIOCC is owned by 14 major African telcos. The shareholders are; * Botswana Fibre Networks - Botswana *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 ...

*Zantel - Tanzania *TelOne - Zimbabwe *ONATEL - Burundi *TMCEL * Telkom Kenya *

Uganda Telecom Uganda Telecom, whose full legal name is Uganda Telecom Limited (UTL), is an information and communication technology network company in Uganda owned by the government of Uganda and currently under receivership due to large debts of about USh 700 ...

*Lesotho Communications Authority

Network

Eastern Africa Submarine Cable System (EASSy) WIOCC is the largest shareholder in

EASSy The Eastern Africa Submarine Cable System (EASSy) is an undersea fibre optic cable system connecting countries in Eastern Africa to the rest of the world. EASSy runs from Mtunzini in South Africa to Port Sudan in Sudan, with landing points in ...

owning 28% of the capacity, a >10Tbit/s capacity

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

fibre-optic cable A fiber-optic cable, also known as an optical-fiber cable, is an assembly similar to an electrical cable, but containing one or more optical fibers that are used to carry light. The optical fiber elements are typically individually coated with ...

system interconnecting nine countries along the eastern seaboard to the rest of the world. Circuits on EASSy can be protected against cable breaks and equipment failures by choosing its ‘in system protection’ option, which reroutes affected traffic onto the EASSy collapsed ring in the event of failure. 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 ...

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 List of cities in Somalia by population, most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port ...

, 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 Dar es Salaam (; from ar, دَار السَّلَام, Dâr es-Selâm, lit=Abode of Peace) or commonly known as Dar, is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over s ...

, Tanzania *

Toliary Toliara (also known as ''Toliary'', ; formerly ''Tuléar'') is a city in Madagascar. It is the capital of the Atsimo-Andrefana region, located 936 km southwest of national capital Antananarivo. The current spelling of the name was adopted ...

, Madagascar *

Maputo Maputo (), formerly named Lourenço Marques until 1976, is the Capital city, 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 popul ...

, Mozambique *

Mtunzini Mtunzini ( Zulu: ''eMthunzini'', from ''umthunzi'' meaning "a place in the shade") is a small coastal town that is situated almost exactly halfway along KwaZulu-Natal's coastline in South Africa approximately 140 km north of Durban. In 2011, ...

, South Africa WIOCC Globe NETWORKS + Header AUG 2020

Through strategic investments in several major international submarine cables into Africa, the overall WIOCC network forms a ‘ring’ around Africa. These cables include: Europe India Gateway (EIG) EIG is a 15,000 km with a design capacity of 28 Tbit/s connecting Africa's northern seaboard to

the Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europea ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

WIOCC has made a strategic investment in EIG to secure high capacity, high-speed onward connectivity from Djibouti for

. West Africa Cable System (WACS) WACS is the largest submarine cable on Africa's western seaboard, with a design capacity of 14.5 Tbit/s and the largest submarine cable on Africa's western seaboard linking

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

with the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

WIOCC has made a strategic investment in WACS. Circuits on WACS can be protected against cable breaks and equipment failures by choosing its ‘in system protection’ option, which reroutes affected traffic onto an alternative fibre pair in the event of a failure. Telecom Egypt North (TE North)

TE North TE North (Telecom Egypt North) is a submarine telecommunications cable linking France and Egypt developed by Alcatel-Lucent. The cable system is 3,100 km long with a capacity of up to 1.28 Tbit/s over 8 fibre pairs. The cable system expand ...

is a submarine telecommunications cable linking France and Egypt, a 3,100 km long with a capacity of up to 1.28 Tbit/s over 8 fibre pairs. South East Asia–Middle East–Western Europe 5 (SEA-ME-WE 5) SEA-ME-WE 5 is an optical fibre submarine communications cable system that carries telecommunications approximately 20,000 kilometres long with a design capacity of 24 Terabits per second between Singapore and France. As well as serving Africa's coastal regions, WIOCC's terrestrial network links to these and other submarine fibre-optic cables and enables businesses and individuals in landlocked countries - such as

Lesotho Lesotho ( ), officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a country landlocked country, landlocked as an Enclave and exclave, enclave in South Africa. It is situated in the Maloti Mountains and contains the Thabana Ntlenyana, highest mountains in Sou ...

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

Burundi Burundi (, ), officially the Republic of Burundi ( rn, Repuburika y’Uburundi ; Swahili language, Swahili: ''Jamuhuri ya Burundi''; French language, French: ''République du Burundi'' ), is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley at the ...

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...

Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...

and

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East 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*) territor ...

to take advantage of cost-effective international connectivity.

References

{{Reflist, 30em Telecommunications in Africa Internet in Africa Telecommunications in Europe Submarine communications cables in the Indian Ocean Wide area networks

Shareholders

Network

See also

References