Cabo Verde based CVTelecom has signed an agreement for construction of landing points for the submarine fiber optic cable that comes to Praia. The contract agreement was signed with the consortium behind EllaLink submarine cable.
CVTelecom has made plans to invest US$25m in the project. The entire network buildup cost is expected to be around US$250m. CVTelecom had already initiated for procurement of the required items for the construction of fiber optic network. Procurement of fiber optic cables that connect to the submarine fiber cable and the central office at the landing point and associated accessories are also under progress.
Cape Verde, or Cabo Verde, is an African country on a volcanic archipelago off the northwest coast of Africa. The country is known for its Creole Portuguese-African culture, traditional morna music, and numerous beaches. Praia is the capital of Cape Verde is located in the largest island Santiago.
EllaLink submarine fiber cable will connect Latin America to Western Europe and along its way Cape Verde too. EllaLink cable system is first of its kind submarine fiber cable system that would link Brazil and Portugal. There are submarine fiber cable systems that connect Brazil to Africa and Brazil to North America. EllaLink has the distinction of being the fiber cable to link Brazil to Europe via the Canary Islands and Cape Verde.
A submarine copper cable system was built in 1999 to connect Latin America and Europe. The increasing data explosion demanded by growing applications has been forcing network builders and service providers to deploy fiber optic cables. The buildup cost obviously was a concern. The new fiber cable system will span 9,200km and will connect data centers in Madrid, Lisbon and São Paulo.
Telecommunication infrastructure in Cape Verde had undergone an extensive modernization from 1996-2000 following partial privatization in 1995. A major service provider in the country is Cabo Verde Telecom (CVT). Fiber-optic ring, completed in 2001 that linked all islands providing Internet access and ISDN Services. Cellular service was introduced in 1998 and broadband services were launched in 2004. Cape Verde has a landing point for the Atlantis-2 fiber-optic transatlantic telephone cable that provides links to South America, Senegal, and Europe.
The current submarine project was kickstarted by Brazilian network provider Telebras and Fiera Infrastructure – whose IslaLink system connects the Balearic Islands to Spain via submarine and terrestrial backhaul fiber. Most part of the cost of this project would be taken care of by specialized infrastructure equity fund, Marguerite II. EllaLink has also received a US$27.2 million investment from the European Commission as part of its Building Europe Link to Latin America (BELLA) initiative.
Connecting Cabo Verde to Europe and Latin America with an initial capacity of 200Gbps will enable CVTelecom to create an Information Technology platform in the Atlantic. Originally planned for launch in early 2018, the system is now scheduled for 2020. The new cable system will provide an alternative network link between Europe and Latin America, 40 percent faster than existing systems routed through the US.
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