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source: SouthAfrica.info
Nthambeleni Gabara
9 May 2008

The South African government has identified the Broadband Infraco-led African West Coast Cable (AWCC) project as a lead initiative to create a sustainable, competitive international bandwidth market in the country.

This view emerged during a meeting held between the office of the Presidency, Public Enterprises Minister Alec Erwin and Communications Minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri over the weekend.

“The decision is in line with [President Thabo Mbeki's] statement in this year’s State of the Nation address to complete the licensing and the operationalisation of Infraco as well as the completion of the process to launch undersea cables in partnership with other governments on the continent and the private sector,” read a statement by the Department of Communications this week.

The AWCC is a 3.8 terabit cable that will stretch from Melkbosstrand, outside Cape Town in the Western Cape province, to the United Kingdom with capacity terminating in London.

The project, which is expected to be functioning in the middle of 2010, will have branching units to at least 10 countries along the west coast of Africa and have a design length of [continue reading]