Guinea and Gambia are Set to have New Subsea Cable soon

The African region has continued to experience network outages after the subsea cable got damaged a while ago. In response, Guinea and Gambia agree to study ways to set up a new subsea cable for their nation’s advancement.

The outages caused a lot of financial setbacks and have become a concern for most African governments.

Guinea And Gambia Signs a Memorandum of Understanding on New Subsea Cable

The two countries signed a memorandum of understanding to acknowledge and seal the deal of a new subsea cable. It was signed on Wednesday, April 24, in Banjul.
The Minister of Posts, Telecommunications, and Digital Economy, Rose Pola Pricemou, represented Guinea, while the Minister of Communications, Ousmane Bane, represented Gambia.

The intention of the memorandum is to gather and use different resources to create a stable and reliable submarine cable. The World Bank, in support of the initiative, will fund the infrastructure. This will be done through the West African Digital Integration Project (WARDIP).

This means expenses from both countries pertaining to the subsea cable project would be subsidized. This initiative reveals the two nations’ commitment to strengthening their cooperation for a more accessible and prosperous digital future.

Guinea and Gambia Connected to ACE Cable

Both countries are currently connected to the ACE (Africa Coast to Europe) cable. They mainly depend on ACE for high-speed internet services. However, frequent disruptions in the infrastructure led to service interruptions. It also prompted the Gambia and Guinea to decide on a second subsea cable. The cable will stand as a backup to ensure there are no network blackouts.

ACE Cable Faces Frequent Disruptions

The ACE is a 17,000-kilometre optical-fiber submarine cable system that serves about 24 countries and is managed by an association of 20 members. The joint agreement was documented in 2010 and implemented in 2012, with an official ceremony in Banjul, Gambia.

Note that ACE is the first international submarine cable to land in Gambia, Guinea, and several other countries.

The frequent disruptions have pushed the two countries to search for other alternatives, including the second subsea cable. The second subsea cable initiative is expected to improve the quality of high-speed telecommunications services.
Also, it is expected to widen the reach of these services to thousands more individuals at lower costs.

Finally, the project is poised to accelerate the implementation of the two countries’ digital transformation goals.

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