A noble goal steeped in controversy

First mooted at the first African business leaders summit held in November 2002 in Nairobi, the Eastern Africa Submarine Cable System (EASSy) takes advantage of some of the latest developments in undersea fibre optic technology to achieve unprecedented efficiencies, making it affordable for the first time to connect all the countries of Africa in a fibre based network.
The Summit—attended by business leaders from the East African Community (EAC) member states of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania—adopted a manifesto recommending the construction of an under-sea fibre-optic cable, covering the eastern sea board of Africa and to benefit countries such as Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Zambia, Somalia and Mozambique.

Operators who would initiate the project and form the lead consortium were named as Telkom Kenya, Tanzania Telecommunications Company (TTCL), Uganda Telecom (UTL), Mobile Telephone Network (MTN Uganda), Zanzibar Telecom, Nation Media Group and a number of unspecified data operators. International carriers expected to invest in the system are Belgacom from Belgium, AT&T from USA, Telenor from Norway, KPN from Netherlands and Telecom Malaysia.

Like SAT-3/WASC/SAFE, EASSy was to serve as a shining example in demonstrating the ability of African and global telecommunications companies to work together in harmony towards realizing an important step and building block in pursuit of the development and improvement of African infrastructure. At the core of the cable is optical fibre, a nearly perfect medium for the transmission of information, which is carried in the form of pulses of light. The capacity of optical fiber to carry information is unmatched by any other technology. EASSy was to complement the existing infrastructure.

The 9900km EASSy network to be built on Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing Technology (DWDM) is an initiative to connect countries of eastern and southern Africa via a high bandwidth fibre optic cable system to the rest of the world. Considered a milestone in the development of information infrastructure in the region, it is expected to reduce unit costs for global connectivity, leading to increased profitability and lower tariffs and charges for end users.

Above all, it is expected to facilitate inter-Africa trade owing to better communication in the region.EASSy is planned to run from Mtunzini in South Africa to Port Sudan in Sudan with landing points in six countries, and connected to at least five landlocked countries – which will no longer have to rely on expensive satellite systems to carry voice and data services. EASSy was one of the six Information and Communication Technology (ICT) projects presented by the Nepad eAfrica Commission to the 6th meeting of the Nepad Heads of State Implementation Committee in March 2003 in Abuja.
In December 2003 ten consortium members signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and by March 2006, 33 parties had signed. More subscribers are expected to come on board.

A basic ICT broadband infrastructure network for eastern and southern Africa region was subsequently developed and agreed by various stakeholders including policy makers, regulators, telecommunication operators and utility infrastructure operators. The network was subsequently adopted by the 12th Summit of the Heads of State and Government Implementation Committee of Nepad in Algiers, Algeria on 23 November 2004. The adoption of the network has been followed by a series of meetings and workshops aimed at tackling a number of issues that are key to the implementation of the network. On 29 August 2006, due to unresolved issues, only seven countries out of the 23 involved in the project signed the protocol for the creation of a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV)—a legal entity that constructs, owns and maintains the submarine system—in Kigali, Rwanda. The remaining countries have up to November 30 to make up their minds.

Dogged by squabbles revolving around ownership and implementation, the EASSy project has been running behind schedule. According to initial plans, the cable was to be completed by 2005. Indications are now that it may only take off in 2008.