Google is building the first undersea fiber optic cable that will directly connect Africa to Australia, helping to strengthen Internet access in one of the world’s least connected parts. The cable, called Umoja, follows the Google Equiano cable that connects Africa to Europe.
The new line will start in Kenya and run overland through Uganda, Rwanda, Congo, Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa before crossing the ocean to Australia, the company said in a blog post on Thursday. The new infrastructure will improve coverage on a continent that has been plagued by damaged cables this year. Currently, there are relatively few submarine connections to Africa and limited terrestrial infrastructure, making it difficult to reroute traffic.
This week, U.S. President Joe Biden and Kenyan President William Ruto will meet in Washington, D.C., for a state visit aimed at deepening U.S. ties with Africa. The continent is becoming a new arena for global competition for influence when it comes to technology and connectivity. This week, Microsoft announced that it plans to build a $1 billion geothermal data center in Kenya as part of a multi-year plan to significantly increase cloud computing capacity in East Africa.
«Access to the latest technology, supported by a reliable and resilient digital infrastructure, is critical to growing economic opportunities. This is an important moment for Kenya’s digital transformation journey,» says Meg Whitman, U.S. Ambassador to Kenya and former CEO of e-Bay.
Umoja’s land route was built in collaboration with Liquid Technologies to form a highly scalable route across Africa, including access points that will allow other countries to take advantage of the network.
Source: Bloomberg