Kenya Welcomes Sixth Submarine Cable

Kenya is a recipient of the latest submarine fibre cable that connects it to Asia and Europe.

Named PEACE Cable, it connects Pakistan, Kenya, Egypt, France and countries along the way with an extension to Singapore and South Africa.

The cable, which is worth $400 million, was funded under Public Private Partnership courtesy of Telkom Kenya, Orange, Telecom Egypt, Cybernet, HMN Tech and PCCW Global.

Speaking during the launch, ICT CS Joe Mucheru said the 15,000KM cable has a combined capacity of the other five launched in the past decade hence would help improve efficiency as well as cut internet costs in Kenya and the region.

“The investment in submarine cables is of strategic importance to Telkom. We are proud to contribute to Kenya’s strategic evolution to become a digital economy, in line with the country’s Big 4 Agenda that relies on ICT to enhance processes, improve efficiencies, and boost consistency in service delivery to Kenyans,” said Telkom CEO, Mugo Kibati.

The 15,000km long PEACE cable will give Kenya a strategic boost with respect to more flexible digital connection options, including high speeds of 200 Gbps per single wavelength with a total capacity of 192Tbps, as well as stable and secure data access possibilities. Further, the continued growth in consumer demand for connectivity and data will unlock new markets for co-location data centres, content development networks and Over-the-Top service providers in the country.

The PEACE Cable is preceded by the Djibouti Africa Regional Express 1 (DARE 1), SEACOM, The East African Marine System (TEAMS), the Eastern Africa Submarine Cable System (EASSy), and the Lower Indian Ocean NetWork II (LION II).