Google’s Equiano Subsea Cable Arrives in South Africa
According to reports, the final stop of Google’s Equiano Subsea Cable, which aims to build a sea link between Europe and Africa, was Melkbosstrand in the Western Cape of South Africa on Monday.
Initially, it was stated that the cable will arrive in South Africa by June 2022.
The Equiano cable’s $14 billion voyage, which started in 2019 in Lisbon, Portugal, and included multiple stops along the western coast of Africa, comes to a finish with this landing. Last month, it made its most recent stop in Swakopmund, Namibia.
The Equiano cable connects Nigeria, South Africa, Portugal, and a number of other nations to the internet infrastructure. The cable is the highest-capacity internet cable to ever land on the African continent, with a capacity of 144 terabytes/second.
African telecom infrastructure company Wiocc, which facilitated the cable’s landing, confirmed Equiano’s landing in Melkbosstrand, north of Cape Town, South Africa.
The cable “will have a direct influence on connectivity throughout the Southern Africa region, resulting in quicker Internet speeds, decreased Internet pricing, and improved user experience,” according to a statement from Wiocc.
As Equiano’s official landing partner, ISP organization Openserve, which recently separated from parent firm Telkom, is anticipated to finish the cable’s landing in South Africa.
The cable is expected to significantly enhance internet speeds over the continent of Africa. According to a recent analysis by Africa Practice and Genesis Analytics, Namibia’s internet speed is anticipated to increase by 2.5 times. Between 2022 and 2025, the cable system, which is scheduled to go into service in the fourth quarter of 2022, will help South Africa add 180,000 new jobs.
