West African Cable System signs financing agreement

The long-awaited construction and maintenance agreement, to build the $640 million West African Cable System (WACS), was signed last Wednesday at Vodacom's head office, in Johannesburg.

The signing of the agreement has been put off several times already, with the last scheduled date having been 11 March. A contractor to construct the cable also has not been formally announced, although it is expected to be Alcatel-Lucent.

WACS grew out of the need to replace the Telkom-controlled SAT-3 cable, which is running out
of capacity, and to break the telecommunications company's grip on international
connectivity.

The new system will operate on open access and non-discriminatory pricing principles but it
will be a traditional type of telecoms shareholder model linking capacity to the amount of
money each company puts in.

“A big difference from the SAT-3 model is that, while the shareholders will build and
operate the landing stations in their own countries, they will have to give other
shareholders equal access. So the 'key-to-the-door' situation, as we have with Telkom, will
not exist,” a source says.

WACS shareholders are Telkom, Vodacom, MTN, Broadband Infraco and Neotel from SA. Telecoms
companies from Namibia, Botswana and Angola will also have stakes, as will Vodafone (Spain)
and British-owned Cable & Wireless.

It is believed the cable has been oversubscribed, with last minute attempts made – as late
as the day before the signing – by potential investors that were rejected.

Sources close to the project say that it will be completed by the end of 2010 and that
existing cables will be able to handle anticipated demand during the World Cup.
(Source: ITWeb)
Yahsat expands UAE presence in Africa with satellite broadband service by 2010

The United Arab Emirates is increasing its stake in Africa's telecommunications market with
Al Yah Satellite Communications' move, announced last week, to launch two satellites
dedicated to providing cheap bandwidth.

The company, also known widely as Yahsat, will provide cheap options for many businesses and
rural communities in Africa, said Kevin Viret, Yahsat regional director-Africa.

The "YahClick" service will be available in 2010 and the Yahsat 1B, a second satellite, will
be launched in mid 2011, said Viret. Equipment to receive the satellite signal including
VSAT dish, modem and cables will cost about $350 compared to $2,500 charged today, and a
512KB link will cost $30 per month.

The launch of the satellites will consolidate the investments from the UAE led by Etisalat,
which owns a 20 percent stake in The East Africa Marine System (TEAMS) fiber-optic cable.

Etisalat is a major player in Africa's mobile phone market supporting voice, data and value
added services in Niger, the Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Benin, Gabon, Burkina Faso, Togo and the
Central Africa Republic.

Yahsat is a subsidiary of the government's Mubadala Development Company and will provide
C-band and Ka-band coverage over the Middle East, Africa and Europe with a single beam.

"The service is well equipped to offer cost effective communication links for applications
such as corporate data networks, Internet trunking and GSM backhauling," said Salma Al
Mansouri, communications manager at Yahsat.

"YahLink" will be offered to a diverse customer base including telecom and cellular
operators, ISPs, banks and financial institutions, oil and gas enterprises, construction
companies, and government agencies, the company said.

Last year, Mohammed Omran, Etisalat's chairman, said he expects operations in Africa to
account for at least 25 percent of revenue within four years as 4 million customers are
added in West Africa by the end of 2010.
(Source: Computerworld Kenya)

 

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