The CAR component of the Central African Backbone project is now operational
February 9th 2023
The CAB project aims to connect the countries of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) via high-speed telecom infrastructures. The Central African Republic was to interconnect with Cameroon and Congo.
The Central African Republic component of the Central African Backbone project (CAB-RCA) is finally entering its operational phase. The infrastructures were officially handed over on Monday, January 7 to the Central African government in the presence of the partners. Stretching over 935 km, they connect the Central African Republic (CAR) to the Republic of Congo and Cameroon. The commercialization of the network should begin ” shortly “.
“ In September, we will have an operator who will be there, the government will make a public-private partnership with another managing operator who will manage the infrastructure. It will sell the capacity to telephone operators such as Orange, Telecel and Socatel ,” explained François-Xavier Décopo, project coordinator.
The Central African Republic component of the Central African Fiber Optic Backbone project was launched in 2019. The project was financed by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the European Union to the tune of 22 billion CFA francs ( $35.9 million). For the year 2022, the Congolese Steering Committee of the CAB had voted a budget of 12.3 billion FCFA. This money was to be used to finalize the Congo-Central Africa fiber optic interconnection, among other things.
The marketing of the Central African component of the CAB project should in particular improve the coverage and quality of telecom services in the country. The government hopes that the project will increase tax revenue and reduce the cost of economic and social transactions. It should also facilitate the digital opening up of rural areas and regional integration via fiber optic infrastructure for access to neighboring countries.
“ The whole country must be connected […] We are a continental country. It takes work, trenches to get here. Now that it’s done, we must optimize to reduce the handicap of being landlocked ,” said Faustin Archange Touadéra (photo, left), the President of the Central African Republic.
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