SEACOM to launch second undersea cable to Africa in June 2009

Mumbai: SEACOM, the Mauritius-registered private equity venture, will launch a fibre optic undersea cable linking East Africa to Asia and Europe in June 2009, the company said in a statement.

The $650 million cable, which will provide high-speed internet access and spur investment, will be ready in time for the 2010 soccer World Cup, the company said, adding laying of the cable will start in October this year.

The group will start connecting sections of the cable in April 2009.

''The team is also trying to expedite the construction in an attempt to assist with the broadcasting requirements of the FIFA Confederations Cup scheduled for June 2009," SEACOM said.

The cable will cover a distance of 15,000 km covering the east of the African continent between South Africa and Egypt to Mumbai and then to Marseille in France.

The cable will provide 1.28 terabits per second of broadband capacity to enable high definition TV and provide inexpensive bandwidth.

Investors in the venture include an arm of the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development, Venfin Ltd and Herakles Telecom LLC, each with a 25 per cent stake. Convergence Partners and the Shanduka Group owned by South African business tycoon Cyril Rhamaphosa hold 12.5 per cent each of the remaining stake.

Nedbank Capital, a division of Nedbank and Investec Bank are funding the project, the statement said.

Neotel, South Africa's second telephone network operator, has secured the rights to control South Africa's lone undersea cable, which was owned by state-run Telkom until September 2007.