IDG News Service
By Rebecca Wanjiku
Tuesday, July 29, 2008

The government is considering laying an extra 90 kilometers of fiber to ensure that the cable passes through international waters instead of crossing into Somali territory, said Victor Kyalo, deputy CEO of the Kenya ICT Board.

Somalia has been rocked by civil war since 1991 and has since been divided into Somaliland, which claims sovereignty, and the southern area claimed by both the interim government and the Union of Islamic courts.

With the confusion over leadership, pirates have taken to terrorizing any boat that dares to venture into Somali waters, making for what the U.S. calls the world's most dangerous coastal region.

The laying of the TEAMs (The East African Marine System) cable is scheduled to begin in December, but there are options still to be considered due to security risks, Kyalo told representatives of the five East Africa Community states.

Two weeks ago, Bitange Ndemo, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Information and Communication, led a government delegation to the Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks offices in France to inspect progress on cable construction, which Kyalo said is on schedule.

The Kenya government owns 85 percent of the cable, while the United Arab Emirate's Etisalat owns 15 percent. Out of the government stake, 80 percent is held by the private sector, with ownership divided between Safaricom, Telkom Kenya, KDN, Econet, Wananchi Telecom, Jamii Telkom, Access, Inhand, Flashcom, Equip and Uganda's Fiber Network.

Shared ownership, however, has raised concerns over how the government's promise to deliver affordable bandwidth will be impacted.

"All the 80-percent owners of the government stake in TEAMs are in private sector. How are we assured that they will not seek to recover their profits instead of providing affordable connectivity?" asked John Walubengo, an IT expert in Nairobi.

The 20-percent government stake will ensure competition, Kyalo answered. Moreover, he said, the SEACOM cable will be completed in 2009, which will increase competition and lower costs.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.

Meanwhile, the EASSy (Eastern Africa Submarine Cable System) is slated for completion by the second quarter of 2010 at a cost of US $248 million.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.

Lamadage @ 7/31/2008 11:15 AM EST  HOL where is my comment? Why deleted? or Who deleted?. I was silence for so long and someone is doing dirty job here. Do something before this medium become a real playground.

wariahe @ 7/31/2008 9:55 AM EST  nacalatullacallyka yaa cabid,,,,,,,,, kenya has hidden agenda, all they want is to get connected so that somalia can connect the world through them, GUSKA AALLAH KAGOI KIBAKI

baghdad bob @ 7/30/2008 12:53 PM EST  this is so sad, the whole of africa is getting connecetd while they avoid somalia by 90 km! kenya is getting ready 2030 UN mandated vision of turning into a middle income country. soon they will erect a fence just like USA and mexico.

nomadic1 @ 7/30/2008 10:30 AM EST  Shanta Not only royalties, we need a high speed fibre optic cables, so we should be part of the venture as well. I am not sure but i think this is internationaly funded project for east africa. What i will find hard to believe is that they can suddenly drift away a mere 90 km avoid Somalia waters for good.

shanta @ 7/30/2008 9:51 AM EST  Nomadic, If it’s beyond the continental shelf then we have no say, other wise should we collect royalties from this venture?