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Do any of our African members have information on the coming undersea fiber link?

• Subject: Do any of our African members have information on the coming undersea fiber link?
• From: openeconomies(at)cyber.law.harvard.edu (Jim Moore, Harvard Law School)
• Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2001 22:35:29 -0400
• References: <v03007812b7a87b0a47ca@[10.0.1.2]> <01ce01c12b06$fcb36d20$48fce2d8@kwamia>

Do our African members have current information regarding the coming
undersea fiber optic links now being completed?  We are interested in
reports of technical progress, as well as indications of national policies
governing how the resulting international connectivity may be priced and
made available in your region.

Our understanding is the the consortium laying the combined SAT-3/WASC/SAFE
undersea cable is on schedule to offer service by February of next year. The
cable enters from Malaysia, across the Indian Ocean, and lands at two points
in South Africa, in Angola, Nigeria, Ghana, Cote D'ivoire, and Senegal
before heading up to Portugal.  We would be very interested in local
information about how the cable is progressing.  More important, what are
the national policies with regard to making this overseas telecom and
Internet capacity available?  It will be a challenge deciding between (a)
making the capacity available expensively, in order to generate maximum
immediate telecom income for the phone companies, and (b) making inexpensive
international connectivity available and stimulating e-businesses and
"digital trade".

Special tarrifs could be developed for "digital trade" businesses, in order
to jump-start such businesses, and promote overall GNP growth.  For example,
in India inexpensive, reliable overseas telecom, especially between India
and the US, has been very important in making Mumbia/Bombay a center for
international software development, customer service call centers, medical
transcription, accounting back office support, and so on.

Ghana and other nations in Africa are very competitive for these sorts of
outsourcing contracts, based on wage rates.  But reliable and inexpensive
telecom--both voice and Internet/data--is key.

Thanks for your help!  Regards, Jim Moore

• Follow-Ups:
  • Do any of our African members have information on the coming undersea fiber link?
    • From: openeconomies@eon.law.harvard.edu (Iqbal Mohomed)

• References:
  • Houston initative
    • From: openeconomies@eon.law.harvard.edu (Mikael Pawlo)
  • IT POLICY FOR GHANA
    • From: openeconomies@eon.law.harvard.edu (kwami)

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