A Great Day For Gambia

Gambia: President Jammeh to launch Africa Coast to Europe submarine cable

Africa Coast to Europe (ACE) submarine cable - The Gambian leader Yahya Jammeh will on Wednesday launch the Africa Coast to Europe (ACE) submarine cable in the West African country. The launch at Sukuta in the West Coast region will be attended by some 500 people, including representatives from the World Bank, African Union, various governments, international policy makers, regulators, operators, vendors and service providers from across the world.

The ACE consortium, which is led by France Telecom-Orange, is made up of 16 members from Africa and Europe, a media release from the Ministry of Information, Communication and Infrastructure, said on Tuesday in Banjul.

The cable will extend over 17,000 km from Brittany in France to Cape Town in South Africa at depths close to 6,000 metres below sea level, linking Europe to Africa with high-capacity broadband connectivity.

The release said the ACE would give countries in Africa the opportunity to access international broadband network at a low cost.

According to the release this will increase high-speed Internet in Africa, thus reducing the digital divide and triggering social and economic development.

Countries such as the Gambia, Equatorial Guinea, Liberia, Mauritania, Sao Tome & Principe and Sierra Leone will have access to a submarine cable for the first time.

ACE will broaden their opportunities in terms of connectivity, data-sharing and information sharing with the rest of the world. It will also promote better network reliability as well as greater flexibility.

Landlocked countries such as Mali and Niger will also have access to the ACE cable system and will therefore benefit from the same increase in connectivity as the countries with a coastal access, release said.