switch to fiber optic cable system

[dock98]

Indian Ocean countries are moving ahead on a plan to construct an international fiber-optic cable system.

Michael Malakata , IDG News Service

Sunday, February 24, 2008 10:00 AM PST

r optic cable

Aiming to cut telecommunication costs, Indian Ocean nations are moving ahead on a fiber-optic cable project to connect countries in the region to each other and to intercontinental networks.

The Indian Ocean Commission gave the go-ahead to the project last week during the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Forum in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The Indian Ocean Commission is an international development organization. The project's goal is to foster telecom and economic development among the Indian Ocean countries and help them compete with other nations in the region.

The decision to begin the project follows a feasibility study, conducted last year, that looked at Internet demand in the countries served by the Indian Ocean Commission: Madagascar, Mauritius, Réunion, Comoros and Seychelles.

The countries mainly rely on satellites for international communications. The fiber-optic project will connect the five countries to each other, then link them to the main cables that hook Africa to other regions of the world. The idea behind the project is that ultimately, fiber-optic communications will be less expensive than satellite technology.

The Addis Ababa ICT forum was organized by the European Commission, the European Union's executive and regulatory body, the United Nations Commission for Africa (UNECA) and African, Caribbean and Pacific countries.

UNECA's director of science and technology, Aida Opoku-Mensah, said ICT is one of the fastest growing sectors in Africa and is ripe for investment.

"Effective utilization of tangible assets such as knowledge, innovative potential and skills are key resources for competitive advantage in the region,

full article