As part of its initiatives in Africa, Google is increasing investments in digital infrastructure. The aim is to leverage the opportunities of the internet economy, thereby contributing to a prosperous and sustainable digital future for the continent.
American technology company Google on Thursday, May 23, announced a new fiber optic route connecting Africa and Australia to increase the reach and reliability of digital connectivity in Africa. The infrastructure is called Umoja. The terrestrial part of the network is built in partnership with Liquid Intelligent Technologies.
This land part will connect Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa. From there, a submarine link will be established to reach Australia via the Indian Ocean.
According to Google, the Umoja cable is part of the Africa Connect project, just like the Equiano cable announced in 2019 which connects Africa to Europe. This new investment comes in a context marked by recurring outages on the submarine cables which serve the continent causing disruptions to the Internet.
The last episode dates back to May 12 when failures on the SEACOM and EASSY submarine cable systems caused disruptions in several countries in East and Southern Africa. Last March, similar outages occurred on the WACS, MainOne, ACE, SAT3, Seacom/TGN, AAE1 and EIG cables. Around ten countries in West, Central and Southern Africa were affected.
“This initiative is essential to ensure the redundancy and resilience of our region’s connectivity with the rest of the world, particularly in light of recent disruptions caused by submarine cable cuts. By strengthening our digital backbone, we not only improve reliability, but also pave the way for greater digital inclusion, innovation and economic opportunities for our people and businessessaid William Ruto, President of Kenya.
Isaac K. Kassouwi
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