16 November 2020

Telecom Egypt and St Helena Government (SHG) have inked a deal to connect the island to the former’s  subsea system over the Equiano submarine cable system.

The operator will be the first to provide St Helena with a fibre optic connection to the rest of the world, which is a crucial step towards the island’s economic growth. The cable, along with the associated high-speed internet, is planned to be delivered to the Island by early 2022.

This particular branch connecting Telecom Egypt’s system to St Helena will be 1,140km long. The cable itself will run from the west coast of Africa and provide St Helena with access to both Lisbon, Portugal and Melkbosstrand, South Africa with scalable connectivity ranging from a few hundred gigabits up to multiple terabits, as demand varies. It, therefore, provides the most cost-effective solution to the growth in the island’s bandwidth needs.

In light of its vast experience in the subsea connectivity business, Telecom Egypt will provide a dynamic circuit network functionality, which will ensure that SHG’s communication partners have access to fixed bandwidth. Telecom Egypt will also support SHG in the design, installation, and configuration of the submarine and network equipment.

“From an operational perspective, this is a key milestone for the fibre optic project, as we now have an association with an international partner of high repute who will ensure that all the necessary technical prerequisites are installed in readiness for the arrival of the Equiano System,” said SHG’s fibre optic project manager, Jeremy Roberts.

Telecom Egypt’s VP for international and wholesale, Seif Mounib, added: “We are delighted to have signed this agreement with St Helena Government as this cooperation is part of the initiation of Telecom Egypt’s endeavour in western Africa and is a step forward in Telecom Egypt’s plan to expand its services beyond the MENA region.”