Orange, a leading multinational telecoms operator, on Thursday, announced the connection of Benin Republic and the Canary Islands to the Africa Coast to Europe (ACE) submarine cable, linking them on the digital facility with Nigeria and other preexisting user countries.
An essential part of the Group’s broadband network in Africa, the cable’s construction amounts to a total investment of about $700 million, with around $250 million financed by the telecoms firm and its subsidiaries.
Together with the other members of the ACE consortium, Orange announced the launch of the ACE cable in Cotonou, Benin Republic and Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, the Africa Press Organisation (APO) reported.
The connection of these two stations is part of the second phase of deployment of the ACE submarine cable, which now serves 18 countries, including France, Portugal, the Canary Islands (Spain), Mauritania, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia.
Others are Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, Ghana, Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and São Tomé and Príncipe.
Two landlocked countries, Mali and Niger, are also connected via a terrestrial extension.
The ACE cable, which expands broadband internet access in Africa and provides additional capacity to existing national networks, will cover 17,000 kilometres and will be ex- tended to South Africa by the end of its second phase.
YANGE IKAA, Abuja
