WACS (cable system)
Encyclopedia
WACS is an under-construction submarine communications cable
linking South Africa
with the United Kingdom
along the west coast of Africa which is being constructed by Alcatel-Lucent
. The cable is 14,000 km in length, linking from Yzerfontein
in the Western Cape
of South Africa to London
in the United Kingdom
. It has 15 terminal stations along the western coast of Africa. The total cost for the cable system is $600 million. MTN Group has invested $90 million in the cable making it the largest investor, and in return will receive 11% of the initial capacity of the cable.
The landings in Namibia, the DRC, the Republic of Congo and Togo will provide the first direct connections for these countries to the global submarine cable network.
On 8 April 2009, the following companies signed the WACS Construction and Maintenance Agreement:
A supply contract has been signed between the consortium members and Alcatel-Lucent
Submarine Networks.
The commercial service is unlikely to be launched before the end of the first quarter 2012 and is expected for the second quarter of 2012.
Individual cable systems off the west coast of Africa include:
Other African submarine communications cables:
Other African terrestrial communications cables:
Submarine communications cable
A submarine communications cable is a cable laid on the sea bed between land-based stations to carry telecommunication signals across stretches of ocean....
linking South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
with the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
along the west coast of Africa which is being constructed by Alcatel-Lucent
Alcatel-Lucent
Alcatel-Lucent is a global telecommunications corporation, headquartered in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, France. It provides telecommunications solutions to service providers, enterprises, and governments around the world, enabling these customers to deliver voice, data, and video services...
. The cable is 14,000 km in length, linking from Yzerfontein
Yzerfontein
Yzerfontein is a small harbour town with about 1200 inhabitants on the west coast of South Africa about 90 km north of Cape Town. The main sources of income are tourism , and fishing....
in the Western Cape
Western Cape
The Western Cape is a province in the south west of South Africa. The capital is Cape Town. Prior to 1994, the region that now forms the Western Cape was part of the much larger Cape Province...
of South Africa to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. It has 15 terminal stations along the western coast of Africa. The total cost for the cable system is $600 million. MTN Group has invested $90 million in the cable making it the largest investor, and in return will receive 11% of the initial capacity of the cable.
Landing points
The cable is expected to land in the following countries:- South AfricaSouth AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, Western CapeWestern CapeThe Western Cape is a province in the south west of South Africa. The capital is Cape Town. Prior to 1994, the region that now forms the Western Cape was part of the much larger Cape Province...
, YzerfonteinYzerfonteinYzerfontein is a small harbour town with about 1200 inhabitants on the west coast of South Africa about 90 km north of Cape Town. The main sources of income are tourism , and fishing.... - NamibiaNamibiaNamibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
- AngolaAngolaAngola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
- Democratic Republic of Congo
- Republic of Congo
- CameroonCameroonCameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...
- NigeriaNigeriaNigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
- TogoTogoTogo, officially the Togolese Republic , is a country in West Africa bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, on which the capital Lomé is located. Togo covers an area of approximately with a population of approximately...
- GhanaGhanaGhana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
- Côte d’Ivoire
- Cape VerdeCape VerdeThe Republic of Cape Verde is an island country, spanning an archipelago of 10 islands located in the central Atlantic Ocean, 570 kilometres off the coast of Western Africa...
- Canary IslandsCanary IslandsThe Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
- PortugalPortugalPortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
- United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
The landings in Namibia, the DRC, the Republic of Congo and Togo will provide the first direct connections for these countries to the global submarine cable network.
Design capacity
The design capacity of WACS is at least 3.84 Tbit/s, now upgraded to 5.12 Tbit/s.Construction and ownership
The following South African companies were announced as participants in the construction and maintenance of the cable system:- NeotelNeotelNeotel Ltd., previously SNO Telecommunications, is the second national operator for fixed line telecommunication services in South Africa. It was unveiled on August 31, 2006 in Kyalami in northern Johannesburg...
: South Africa's second fixed line operator - Telkom South Africa: South Africa's incumbent fixed line operator
- MTN Group: a South African based regional mobile operator
- VodacomVodacomVodacom is a pan-African mobile telecommunications company, and was the 1st cellular network in South Africa. It provides GSM service to more than 35 million customers in South Africa, Tanzania, Lesotho, Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Revenue for the year ended 31 March 2008...
: a South African based regional mobile operator - Gateway CommunicationsGateway CommunicationsGateway Communications own and operate a pan African communications network. They have a carrier services business unit who provide solutions connecting mobile phone and fixed line operators in Africa to each other and to the rest of the world, and a business services business unit that connects...
: is the leading pan-African wholesale connectivity and telecommunications provider - Broadband Infraco: a South African state-owned telecom infrastructure company
On 8 April 2009, the following companies signed the WACS Construction and Maintenance Agreement:
- Angola TelecomAngola TelecomAngola Telecom is a telecommunications and Internet service provider of Angola.Subsidiaries of Angola Telecom include:*Movicel, offering mobile phone service and Movinet, offering internet access;...
- Broadband Infraco
- Cable & WirelessCable & WirelessCable & Wireless Worldwide PLC is a global telecommunications company headquartered in Bracknell, United Kingdom. Cable & Wireless specialises in providing communication networks and services to large corporates, governments, carrier customers and resellers...
- MTN Group
- Telecom NamibiaTelecom NamibiaTelecom Namibia Ltd is a telecommunications service provider operating in the country of Namibia. Telecom Namibia Limited is the national telecommunications operator, established in August 1992 and wholly owned by the Government of the Republic of Namibia...
- Portugal TelecomPortugal TelecomPortugal Telecom is the largest telecommunications service provider in Portugal. Although it operates mainly in Portugal and Brazil, it has also a significant presence in Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, Mozambique, Timor-Leste, Angola, Kenya, the People's Republic of China, and São Tomé and...
- Sotelco
- Tata CommunicationsTata CommunicationsTata Communications Limited ) is a telecommunications company located in Mumbai. They own a submarine cable network, a Tier-1 IP network, and also rent data center and colocation space. They operate India's largest data center in Pune...
(NeotelNeotelNeotel Ltd., previously SNO Telecommunications, is the second national operator for fixed line telecommunication services in South Africa. It was unveiled on August 31, 2006 in Kyalami in northern Johannesburg...
) - Telkom South Africa
- Togo TelecomTogo TelecomTogo Telecom is an Internet service provider in Togo....
- VodacomVodacomVodacom is a pan-African mobile telecommunications company, and was the 1st cellular network in South Africa. It provides GSM service to more than 35 million customers in South Africa, Tanzania, Lesotho, Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Revenue for the year ended 31 March 2008...
A supply contract has been signed between the consortium members and Alcatel-Lucent
Alcatel-Lucent
Alcatel-Lucent is a global telecommunications corporation, headquartered in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, France. It provides telecommunications solutions to service providers, enterprises, and governments around the world, enabling these customers to deliver voice, data, and video services...
Submarine Networks.
The commercial service is unlikely to be launched before the end of the first quarter 2012 and is expected for the second quarter of 2012.
See also
List of international submarine communications cablesIndividual cable systems off the west coast of Africa include:
- ACEACE (cable system)The ACE submarine communications cable is a cable system undergoing construction along the west coast of Africa between France and South Africa, planned by the ACE consortium which was initiated on June 5, 2010....
- ATLANTIS-2ATLANTIS-2ATLANTIS-2 is a fiber optic transatlantic telecommunications cable connecting Argentina, Brazil, Senegal, Cape Verde, Canary Islands and Portugal.The Atlantis 2 project total cost was US$370 million invest by a 25 international carrier consortium led technically and financially by Embratel with...
- GLO-1GLO-1 (cable system)The GLO-1 submarine communications cable is a cable system along the west coast of Africa between Nigeria and the UK.The submarine cable system is 9,800 km long, and became operational in 2010 with a minimum capacity of 640 Gbit/s....
- Main One
- SAT-2SAT-2 (cable system)SAT-2 is a submarine communications cable linking Melkbosstrand, South Africa, to El Medano, Tenerife Island, Spain and Funchal, Madeira islands, Portugal...
- SAT-3/WASCSAT-3/WASC (cable system)SAT-3/WASC or South Atlantic 3/West Africa Submarine Cable is a submarine communications cable linking Portugal and Spain to South Africa, with connections to several West African countries along the route. It forms part of the SAT-3/WASC/SAFE cable system, where the SAFE cable links South Africa...
Other African submarine communications cables:
- SAFESAFE (cable system)The South Africa Far East cable is an optical fiber submarine communications cable linking Melkbosstrand, South Africa to Penang, Malaysia.It was commissioned in 2002 and built by Tyco Submarine Systems of the USA with an initial capacity of 10 Gigabits per second, which is upgradeable to 130...
- SEACOM
- EASSyEASSYThe Eastern Africa Submarine Cable System is an undersea fibre optic cable system connecting countries of eastern Africa to the rest of the world....
- TEAMSTEAMS (cable system)TEAMS is an initiative spearheaded by the government of Kenya to link the country to the rest of the world through a submarine fibre optic cable. It was first proposed as an alternative to EASSy, the East African Submarine Cable System...
Other African terrestrial communications cables:
- CABCentral African BackboneA fiber optic internet backbone currently being developed to connect the countries of ECCAS in Africa via high speed internet. Phase 1 of the project is being developed to connect Chad, Cameroon, and CAR. Phase 2 is currently in a state of flux as to which countries will be connected, but...