Benin linked to subsea optic fibre cable ACE

(Agence Ecofin) - The subsea optic fibre cable consortium Africa Coast to Europe (ACE), formed by the Orange group and its subsidiaries, as well as numerous other partners, announced Benin's connection to the system.

The facility, commissioned in Cotonou on 2nd July 2015, is the second phase of the cable placement, which should end in South Africa, following stops in Cameroon, which recently signed the agreement officially signalling its entry in the consortium, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in Angola and Namibia.

The Beninese public will soon be able to access quality internet services, thanks to the country's connection to ACE. The abilities of the cable offer high speed connection, very high speed broadband. ACE is based on the wavelength division multiplexing technology (WDM) which has the ability to increase the capacity depending on the demand without any technical intervention on the telecom facilities. ACE has a total capacity of 12.8 Tbps. In addition to the service quality, populations will now see a drop in the prices for internet access.

Launched in December 2012, in the course of its first phase, the ACE system is linked to 18 countries today: France, Portugal, Canary islands (Spain), Mauritania, Senegal, the Gambia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Benin, Ghana, Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and Sao Tomé & Principe, Mali and Niger.

Its construction represents an investment of approximately US$700 million. The Orange group and its subsidiaries contributed to the tune of US$250 million.