WCA May 2013

Delay after multi-million dollar cable launch

Gambia’s Internet landscape. We inaugurated ACE as a system from France to São Tomé, the system being operational doesn’t mean it has started operation immediately in all member countries.”

However, Mr Lamin Camara, a deputy permanent secretary at the ministry of information, did give a statement, explaining that: “People need to understand the difference between the ACE cable project and changing the

Gambia’s newspaper reports that the multi-million dollar Africa Coast to Europe (ACE) submarine fibre cable project, launched by the Gambia government last December, is still not in operation in the Gambia. “I have not seen any visible improvement,” asserted a cyber cafe operator, lamenting the unstable condition of the Internet network, and adding that he did not know if the cable was connected or not. Users complain about the slow and unstable nature of the Internet network, and also complain of a recent 50 per cent increase in telephone charges. Many of the stakeholders of the ACE cable project are not prepared to discuss the problem. One senior official expressed fear of reprimand if he spoke to the press, asserting: “Yes, we are stakeholders to the project, but I cannot talk to you. If I should speak to you, then the next minute the members of the national intelligence agency (NIA) may come and arrest me.” Foroyaa

Optical fibre joint venture Jiangsu Sterlite Tongguang Fibre Co Ltd (JSTFCL), the joint venture between Sterlite Technologies Limited (Sterlite) and JiangsuTongguang Communication Co Ltd (TGCl), has begun production of optical fibre at its new facility in Jiangsu Province, China. The factory has been established with an investment of around $25 million. China has a total annual demand for optical fibre of more than 100 million kilometres and is an important market for Sterlite Technologies. The company brings its optical fibre technology expertise to the joint venture, while TGCl brings significant fibre cable manufacturing knowledge and its market reach in China. The first phase of the project has an installed annual capacity of 5 million

kilometres of optical fibre and employs over 90 people. Jiangsu Sterlite Tongguang Fibre Co Ltd – China Website : www.sterlitetechnologies.com

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Wire & Cable ASIA – May/June 2013