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mwanakijiji
03-23-2009, 05:32 PM
Daily News March 17, 2009

Tanzania will soon step deeper into the digital world by being connected to the global broadband network through a marine optic fibre in the Indian Ocean installed by SEACOM. SEACOM, which had been laying the under sea cable since November 2007, was last week provided with a licence by the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) to formally start operations.

?This means Tanzania will now be connected to the rest of the world via submarine cable gateway in addition to the existing satellite linkage,? said the TCRA Director General, Prof John Nkoma.
The Seacom Chairman, Mr George Kahama added, ?This license will also take the ordinary Tanzanian to greater economic and social heights.?

The company?s approximately 13,000km of submarine fibre optic cable connects southern and eastern African countries with India and Egypt with Europe and Asia. Prof Nkoma said SEACOM would address deficiencies in the existing regional telecommunication system by providing high quality broadband connectivity to east Africa reducing the need to rely on expensive satellite systems. The cable will be used by both the internet providers, telecommunication companies and other consumers by offering international data access of bigger capacity.

The submarine cable network, Mr Kahama said, is promising cheaper services. He said tariffs were significantly lower. "They are half of those available through satellite and limited fiber capacities in the market today,? he added. Seacom will be ready to serve Southern and East African markets later this year, well in time to meet the bandwidth needs of the Confederations Cup and the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. TCRA also issued internet service license to three new applicants: Infosys IPS (T) Ltd, Tanzania Postal Corporation and Tele-Intomatrix (T) Ltd.

Ach-F
07-23-2009, 11:42 PM
East Africa gets high-speed web

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New cables could revolutionise communications in the region



The first undersea cable to bring high-speed internet access to East Africa is going live. The fibre-optic cable, operated by African-owned firm Seacom, will connect South Africa, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and Mozambique to Europe and Asia. The firm says the cable will help to boost the prospects of the region's industry and commerce.

The cable - which is 17,000km long - took two years to lay and cost more than $650m. Seacom said in a statement the launch of the cable marked the "dawn of a new era for communications" between Africa and the rest of the world. The services are being unveiled in ceremonies in the Kenyan port of Mombasa and the Tanzanian city of Dar es Salaam.

School benefits

The cable was due to be launched in June but was delayed by pirate activity off the coast of Somalia. The BBC's Will Ross in Nairobi says the internet revolution trumpeted by Seacom largely depends on how well the service is rolled out across the region. To the disappointment of many consumers, our correspondent says some ISPs (internet service providers) are not planning to lower the cost of the internet, but instead will offer increased bandwidth. But businesses, which have been paying around $3,000 a month for 1MB through a satellite link, will now pay considerably less - about $600 a month.

The Kenyan government has been laying a network of cables to all of the country's major towns and says the fibre-optic links will also enable schools nationwide to link into high quality educational resources. But our correspondent says it is not clear whether the internet revolution will reach the villages, many of which still struggle to access reliable electricity.


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Hii itasaidia kuona speed inakuwa nzuri, Je itafanya bei kushuka?