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March 8, 2006
New Website Explores Africa's Need for Internet Fiber
The Association for Progressive Communications has launched a new website to promote East Africa's dire need for an international submarine cable that could provide affordable broadband Internet access.
This web site, FibreForAfrica.net, has been put together to provide basic information about international Internet bandwidth in Africa, its costs and the existence of monopoly access to it. Bandwidth is the means through which Africa as a continent communicates with itself and the rest of the world. APC and the other orgs that have put the site together believe that the high costs of international bandwidth on the continent are an obstacle to the its social and economic development. APC writes in its press release:
Africa currently has to pay for some of the most expensive bandwidth in the world. The region currently only has one major international fibre cable (SAT3) that connects countries in West and Southern Africa but East Africa has no fibre connection. Fibre connections usually mean cheaper prices than satellite for volume traffic but because of the monopoly structure of the SAT3 consortium, its operators have kept prices high.All this will change if the proposed East African Submarine Cable System (EASSy) cable is built as it will connect countries on the eastern side of the continent and if this new capacity is offered in a way that maximises use and lowers price.
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Posted by acarvin at March 8, 2006 4:01 PM
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