Nitin Gajria - Afrikan Heroes

Openserve Connects Google’s Equiano Cable to South Africa

August 26, 2022

Openserve, one of South Africa’s largest network infrastructure providers, announced that it has facilitated the landing of the Equiano subsea cable, the world’s largest undersea cable that runs along the west coast of Africa, from Europe to Melkbosstrand, Cape Town.

The Google Equiano undersea cable system arrived at the Openserve cable station facility in Melkbosstrand on Monday, 8 August 2022.

Nitin Gajria, Google Sub-Saharan Africa MD on the landing of Equiano in South Africa

Openserve’s cable station facility will serve as the SA landing station and will offer terrestrial services, connecting the cable landing to South African carrier-neutral data centres.

“The landing of the Equiano undersea cable marks a significant moment for the SA telecommunications industry,” says Althon Beukes, Openserve CEO.

With the landing, Openserve will now have access to a new submarine system offering connectivity to Europe which will provide additional diversity for international communications.

In the initial design, Openserve will have 12Tbp capacity, with current technology and 16Tbps will be possible with upgrades.

“The arrival of Equiano will also have a meaningful impact on the domestic economy through encouraging digital inclusion by making connectivity accessible to more South Africans,” Beukes adds.

Equiano runs from Western Europe, along the west coast of Africa to South Africa. Equiano is the first submarine cable to incorporate optical switching at the fibre-pair level as opposed to the traditional approach of wavelength-level switching.

The private undersea cable has a capacity of 144 Terabytes per second, which is 20 times the capacity of the last cable built to serve the region. In July, Equiano landed in Swakopmund, Namibia. The cable stretches from the coast of Portugal with landing stations in St Helena Island, Togo, Nigeria, Namibia and South Africa as the final point.

“We are committed to supporting Africa’s digital transformation and we are excited by the possibilities brought about by the arrival of the Equiano subsea cable to its final destination. We have partnered with Telkom/Openserve on this initiative and hope it will be a great catalyst to help grow the economy,” commented Nitin Gajria, Google Sub-Saharan Africa MD on the landing of Equiano in South Africa.

The increased connectivity capacity that Equiano brings is expected to yield significant benefits for the relevant countries. This includes increased broadband penetration and higher internet usage.

This will subsequently create economic benefits through the growth of the Information communications technology industry and the digital economy.

The Google Equiano undersea cable is expected to be operational at some point in 2022.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

New Report From Google Says Africa’s Internet Economy Would Be Worth $180 Billion By 2025

November 13, 2020

Yesterday, Google and the International Finance Corporation published a report entitled e-Conomy Africa 2020. It estimates that the economy of the African continent could gain 180 billion dollars by 2025 thanks to two things: greater access to a fast and quality Internet connection, as well as the realization of the African Continental Free Trade Area project.

*Nitin Gajria, Google Director for Sub-Saharan Africa*

“Google and IFC have created this report to highlight the role that the digital startup industry plays and other factors driving the continent’s growth, in order to showcase and support the opportunities that the continent presents,” Nitin Gajria, Google Director for Sub-Saharan Africa said. “For Africa, continuing this momentum requires investment in infrastructure, consumption of digital services, public and private investment, and new government policies and regulations.”

Google E-conomy report Africa Google E-conomy report Africa

Here Is What You Need To Know

The report indicates that the internet economy has the potential to reach 5.2% of Africa’s GDP. When the projection is extended to 2050, its contribution exceeds the $ 700 billion mark. In the short term, i.e. by the end of the year, Accenture (study contributor) expects i-GDP to be worth $ 115 billion, or 4.5% of total GDP ($ 2,544 billion). In 2019, it represented 3.9% of the economy with $ 99.7 billion.
Among other factors behind this growth, the report cites the rapidity of urbanization, the growing pool of technological talent, and the dynamism of the startup ecosystem.
To read more of the report, click here.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer