French telecom behemoth France Telecom (FTE) has reportedly entered into a historic network deal for the construction of a submarine cable system which will connect Europe to Africa. The carrier has inked an agreement with Africa Coast to Europe (ACE), a newly formed consortium of 20 telecom operators, to jointly build the fiber-optic underwater cable network.
The ACE submarine cable system will stretch 17,000 kilometers (10,500 miles) from Penmarch, France, to Cape Town, South Africa, connecting 23 countries. The network will have built-in 40 gigabit per second (Gbit/s) capability which will cater blazing-fast broadband Internet speeds. The underwater cable network is slated to be operational in first-half 2012.
Besides France and South Africa, the network will link other European countries such as Spain and Portugal and will cover a plethora of African nations including Mauritania, Gambia, Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo. While the cable system will directly connect the coastal countries, it will link the landlocked African nations by an overland cable.
The total cost of building the ACE cable network is roughly $700 million out of which France Telecom’s contribution will be $250 million. France Telecom will also spearhead the consortium. Alcatel-Lucent (ALU) will build the ultra-long-haul fiber-optic network. The telecom equipment giant will deploy its advanced submarine line terminal (1620 Light Manager), branching units and its powerful optical transport platform (1678 Metro Core Connect).
The ACE cable system will be a major boost to the broadband industry in Africa which so far has struggled to grow due to a host of impediments including high international bandwidth costs and shambolic network infrastructure. Powered by the most advanced submarine network technology, the new cable system will reduce cost of network access and catalyze the growth of the Internet in Africa.
Given the highly matured European markets, France Telecom is seeking new avenues for growth in the lucrative incipient markets. With an average broadband penetration of just 1.5%, Africa offers ample scope for growth.
France Telecom continues to pursue acquisitions/collaborations in high-growth overseas markets to boost top line. The carrier targets to spend as much as €7 billion (US$9 billion) on deals in Africa and Middle East over the next five years. France Telecom’s investment in the ACE cable project represents a part of this commitment which will further strengthen the carrier’s foothold in Africa.
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