NEPADS ICT INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME

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NEPADS ICT INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME

• BRIAN CHEESMAN
• PROJECT MANAGER
• ICT INFRASTRUCTURE
• NEPAD e-AFRICA COMMISSION
• PRESENTATION TO THE ITU PUBLIC PRIVATE SECTORS
  PARTNERSHIP FORUM FOR AFRICA REGION
• MAPUTO 26 APRIL 2005

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An East African submarine cable system.

• This presentation focuses on the establishment of
  an optical fibre submarine cable system along the
  East coast of Africa, and the terrestrial systems
  that will link this cable to land-locked
  countries in the region.

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The Commission has identified 3 development
projects that will achieve NEPADs ICT
infrastructure objectives.

• Close the submarine optical fibre loop around
  Africa.
• Connect all African countries to a submarine
  cable system.
• Establish an integrated, continent-wide broadband
  optical fibre network.

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EASSY (THE EAST AFRICAN SUBMARINE
SySTEM) CLOSING THE SUBMARINE OPTICAL FIBRE LOOP
AROUND AFRICA.
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• 15 companies from 13 countries in East and
  Southern Africa have signed a Memorandum of
  Understanding to establish a submarine cable link
  between South Africa and Sudan, effectively
  closing the loop around Africa.
• The project encompasses the establishment of
  terrestrial optical fibre systems (backhauls)
  that will link landlocked countries in the region
  to the cable.

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Signatories to the EASSy Memorandum of
Understanding

• Zanzibar Telecom
• Telkom Kenya
• Uganda Telecom Limited
• MTN Uganda
• TDM Mozambique
• Telkom SA
• RwandaTel
• Sudatel (Sudan)
• Botswana Telecom Corporation
• Malawi Telecom Ltd
• Djibouti Telecom
• Ethiopian Telecom Corporation
• Sentech - South Africa
• Telecom Malagasy
• Dalkom Co. Ltd (Somalia)

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Coastal countries that will be connected to the
cable system

• South Africa
• Mozambique
• Tanzania
• Kenya

• Somalia
• Djibouti
• Sudan
• Madagascar

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SYSTEM DETAILS

• Length 9900 km
• Ultimate system capacity gt 360Gb/s
• Cable 2 fibre pairs
• Estimated cost 200m
• Expected completion date 2Q 2007
• Design life 25 years

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PAST MILESTONES

• June 2003 The e-Africa Commission hosted a
  workshop in Nairobi. Stakeholders were informed
  of the EASSy project and invited to participate
  in its development.
• December 2003 11 operators in the region signed
  the project Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
• January 2004 A Project Management Committee
  (PMC) was established.
• January 2004 The Commission was elected to
  chair the Backhaul Coordination Work Group
  (BCWG).
• June 2004 15 operators had signed the MOU.
• October 2004 A Detailed Feasibility Study (DFS)
  commenced.
• March 2005 The DFS indicates that the project
  is commercially viable.

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WAY FORWARD

• April 2005 to July 2007
• The submarine cable network configuration will be
  finalised.
• An invitation to tender will be issued.
• Financial closing will take place (sufficient
  capital has been raised).
• The Construction Maintenance Agreement (CMA)
  will be signed.
• The supply contract will be signed.
• The system will be Ready for Commercial Service.

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THE EASSy BACKHAUL LINKS
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• Five of the 10 landlocked countries of the region
  participate in the development of the project
• Botswana
• Malawi
• Rwanda
• Uganda
• Ethiopia

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Land-locked countries to be connected to the
EASSy cable
AND

• EVENTUALLY
• Swaziland
• Lesotho
• Zambia
• Burundi
• Zimbabwe

• CURRENTLY
• Botswana
• Malawi
• Rwanda
• Uganda
• Ethiopia

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• Basic planning criteria for backhaul links
• There will be two backhaul links per landlocked
  country, via different neighbouring countries and
  to different cable stations.
• All backhaul links will be optical fibre.

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BACKHAUL LINKS CONNECTING LAND-LOCKED COUNTRIES
TO THE SUBMARINE CABLE
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The Commissions support for the EASSy project.
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• The e-Africa Commissions support and commitment
  to the project is evidenced by
• The facilitation of dialogue between numerous
  stakeholders culminating in the convening of a
  workshop in June 2003 in Nairobi, which focused
  entirely on the proposed East Africa cable. The
  workshop brought the project to the attention of
  a wide range of stakeholders who would otherwise
  not have been aware of the project.

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• The convening of a workshop in July 2004 in
  Johannesburg, which focused on the establishment
  of a basic broadband regional optical fibre
  network for East and Southern Africa that would
  also satisfy all the requirements for the EASSy
  backhaul links.
• Lobbying for support at high political levels
  resulting in the EASSy project being accepted by
  the NEPAD Heads of State and Government
  Implementation Committee as a top priority NEPAD
  project.
• The Commission chairs the EASSy Backhaul
  Co-ordination Work Group.

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• The Commission is increasing its attention to the
  issues faced by the EASSy project and
  strengthening its financial expertise in order to
  do so.
• Working with the World Bank Group who have
  undertaken to coordinate donor support for
  funding both the EASSy cable and the terrestrial
  broadband network in East Southern Africa. This
  is in response to the decision of the NEPAD Heads
  of State and Government Implementation Committee
  meeting held in Algiers on 23rd November 2004.

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• The Commission has requested governments, through
  the NEPAD Steering Committee, to take a proactive
  interest in ensuring the availability of funding
  for the EASSy cable specifically, the Commission
  has conveyed the request of the EASSy Programme
  Management Committee for governments to forego
  national duties and taxes on construction of the
  cable in order to ease the funding pressure on
  the project.
• ooOOoo

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