Business Daily (Nairobi)
Kui Kinyanjui
25 June 2009
The arrival of Kenya's second international fibre optic link, Seacom, has been delayed once again, with its managers now saying it will now hit the Coast in late July, missing a previous June target.
This is the second deadline shift for the initiative in the last month, and translates to a setback for local and regional firms relying on the link to start offering cheap internet and telecom connectivity.
On Wednesday, Seacom said an increase in pirate activity in April and May had necessitated a change in its cable installation plans, with the privately- funded initiative saying it had been forced to implement high security measures in order to complete the project.
"Due to sensitivities around piracy issues, an impact on the project timeline was only fully established recently. It was imperative that strong measures be put in place to guarantee the successful completion of the cable system and the safety of the ship and its crews," said Brian Herlihy, the Seacom CEO.
Sea piracy Earlier this month, Seacom had announced that it expected a delay in its landing date as it navigated pirate ridden seas off east Africa.
Mr Herlihy said that the cable deployment in the troublesome waters has since been completed and splicing to connect the section of cable from Mumbai to Africa is expected shortly.
The East African Marine System (TEAMs), which was the first international fibre optic project to arrive in the country in early June, also had to contend with piracy issues, requiring a cable reroute and additional security from naval forces.
Seacom's will have an enormous capacity of 1.28 terrabytes per second, to enable high definition TV, peer to peer networks, IPTV, and surging Internet demand.
Pricing will be significantly lower than current satellite or fibre pricing, with Seacom stating it will offer wholesale bandwidth at $200 per megabyte.
The cable is rushing in order to capitalize on the 2010 Soccer World Cup in South Africa, hoping to serve southern and East African markets.
Seacom is jointly owned by Industrial Promotion Services, an arm of the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development, Venfin Limited, Convergence Partners, Shanduka Group, and Herakles Telecom.
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