Kenya opts for Fibre-optic Undersea Cable System

Exciting news & definitely something Kenya & Telkom should be proud of!

My comments in RED...

Telkom signs Sh5.7bn cable deal

Story by MICHAEL OMONDI (Daily Nation)

Publication Date: 11/18/2006

Telkom Kenya has signed a Sh5.7 billion pact with Etisalat of Dubai paving the way for the construction of an undersea cable linking Mombasa to Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates.

I hope they can complete it by Dec 2007 (they do say Nov 2007 so I am giving them one more month!) just in time to broadcast Kenya's elections' information!

The construction and supply contract will be awarded early next year and the project, dubbed The East African Marine System (Teams), will be ready by November, according to a joint statement issued by both parties from Dubai.
Kenya will have a 40 per cent holding in the project, Etisalat 20 and the remaining will go to investors in the East African region.

I hope they can float shares in such a venture since it allows Kenyans to participate from the ground up in a wonderful project that will show excellent returns if managed well!

A public offer would also open it up to scrutiny thus preventing any shenanigans regarding "corruption"... I hope the "Anglo-Fleecing" crowd are not involved!

Information and Communications permanent secretary Bitange Ndemo said in a statement from Dubai that the deal would create work opportunities for Kenyans especially in the outsourcing business.

Absolutely... Hopefully, we can get some of the jobs going to India! Apart from BPO work there is an expanded scope for IT professionals in Kenya!

Finer details of the pact remained sketchy since Dr Ndemo and the minister, Mr Mutahi Kagwe, are in Dubai.

I hope the Press are all over this story... In fact, Kagwe & Ndemo should give an interview to the bloggers!

The deal comes at a time when Kenya and 15 other African countries are locked in a dispute over the ownership and financing of a separate undersea cable that is set to run from Mtunzini, South Africa, to Mombasa. The under sea cable, commonly known as EASSY project, was started in 2003 by the World Bank at a cost of Sh14.4 billion but has been dogged by controversy with several member countries accusing South Africa of trying to hijack it.

Forget the S.Africans... We are not part of SADC but can create a common bloc with Uganda, Rwanda, Zaire, Burundi & S.Sudan. Note that Tanzania think its closer to S.Africa than to Kenya. Let them be!

EASSY is aimed at connecting eastern and southern African countries through fibre optic cable system to the rest of the world. Dr Ndemo, however, emphasised that Kenya would not abandon the EASSY project, arguing that the Government had invested time and money in it.

Why not pull out of EASSY? Just write it off until the S.Africans come back with a better offer. It's always good to have a backup in EASSy if TEAMS goes down for any reason.

The PS added that the Dubai deal had come about because of delays in concluding the EASSY project, which had made the country miss "huge" business opportunities. "From our estimates, EASSY will take too long to start and may not even take off and that would be a huge risk for our country," Dr Ndemo said, adding that the favourable pricing of the Dubai deal, which came at nearly a third of the EASSY project, would put Kenya in a good position to compete with India and Philippines for the lucrative outsourcing business.

YES... Maybe NARC-K does deserve my vote! If they can get TEAMS up & running by Nov 2007, they will have made a serious effort to earn Kenyan votes!

"The pricing with EASSY does not have these considerations and as a country we need to spur growth with a cheaper bandwidth," Dr Ndemo said.

I am so glad to hear this news... now make it REALITY... India is no longer the cheapest source for BPO & other countries can start chipping away at their dominance.

The gain in BPO jobs will have a positive knock-on effect on other sectors including IT, telecommunications & finance.