Google is continuing to deploy its submarine cable system in Africa. The realization of this project is part of the objective of the American company to invest 1 billion USD in Africa over five years to support digital transformation there.
Google’s Equiano undersea internet cable finally landed in South Africa earlier this week. This was announced by the WIOCC company which built the cable landing station in Melkbosstrand, Cape Town. Once operational, the new infrastructure should improve the quality of the Internet not only in the rainbow nation, but also throughout southern Africa.
The company Openserve, a subsidiary of Telkom, should complete the deployment of the cable across South Africa as an official partner of Equiano, we learned.
The arrival in South Africa is the final leg of Equiano’s deployment which began in Portugal in 2019 with several stops along the West African coast. This comes about four months after the cable landed in Togo, its first African destination. A month later, Nigeria hosted the submarine cable. Last July, the cable landed on the Namibian coast.
According to a study commissioned by Google , the arrival of Equiano in South Africa is expected to triple Internet connectivity speeds, reduce Internet costs by 16% to 21% and increase Internet penetration by 7%. internet in the country by 2025. In addition, the submarine cable will help create about 180,000 jobs in the country.