Addis Ababa, July 26 - A long-expected fibre-optic cable linking southern and eastern Africa to global telecommunications networks via India and Europe has gone live with high expectations it will lower the cost of telecommunications in Africa. Its switch-on date was delayed for a month after threats by Somali pirates along the Indian Ocean route from India to Kenya disrupted cable installation plans.

The cable has simultaneously launched in Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, South Africa and Uganda on July 23. It is widely seen to be opening up opportunities for governments and business to use the network as a platform to compete globally and drive economic growth.

Backhauls linking Johannesburg, Nairobi, and Kampala with coastal landing stations have also been established. Additionally, SEACOM, the fibre-optic company behind the operation, is working with national partners to commission the final link to Kigali, Rwanda, and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The US$600 million cable has direct connections to India and from India to Europe, making it the first cable to hook east and southern Africa to India and Europe. The 17,000 kilometer cable has a capacity of transmitting data amounting to 1.28 terrabytes per second.

According to reports, SEACOM management is marking the launch of the cable with a one gigabytes per second live international connection and live high-definition video feed over an IP network to interconnect representatives and dignitaries across the five African countries.

The Common market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) Secretary General Sindiso Ngwenya said that most countries in the Comesa region will connect to the cable for broadband services.