With the forthcoming cable landing in Mombasa this weekend, everything with the construction of the EASSy submarine cable is right on plan.
Installation of the 40km shore-end cable at Maputo started at the end of last year.
Since then over 6,500km of the 10,000km cable has been deployed, with cable landings in:
- Port Sudan (January 29th)
- Djibouti (February 13th)
- Mtunzini, South Africa (Feburary 15th)
- Maputo, Mozambique (February 24th)
- Toliary, Madagascar (March 12th)
Next stops are Mombasa (expected March 19th) and Moroni, the Comores (27th March), with the joining of the two ends of the cable (the final splice) due in early April. This will be followed by two months of testing before the system ready for service date at the end of June 2010.
Everyone is excited about seeing the cable going into the ocean. Two of the WIOCC team had the rare opportunity (in Djibouti) to help pull out of the water the latest and largest African submarine cable – quite an experience!
WIOCC are currently putting the final touches to a cable landing event in Mombasa – with VIPs, ship visits and a tour of the Mombasa landing station all planned for this weekend. If you are in Mombasa, keep your eyes open for the cable laying ship Ile de Sein, which will be arriving at the coast in the next couple of days. Also look out for the red buoys that will mark the arrival of the EASSy cable – and with it, the first direct, high-speed connectivity between east Africa and Europe.
wiocc.wordpress.com 