Cameroon and Gabon officially launch the completion and installation of a 22-kilometre interconnected fibre optic network. The above means that telecommunications between the two countries will be direct rather than via international submarine cables, lowering costs.
On July 15, Minette Libom Li Likeng, Cameroon’s Minister of Posts and Telecommunications, and Edgard Anicet Mboumbou Miyakou, Gabon’s Minister of State, Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, jointly launched the network infrastructure in Meyo-Kye, Gabon.
The backbone of each country was connected via Kye-Ossi in Cameroon and Bitam in Gabon, according to Ngongeh Ayafor Clement, Technical Director of Cameroon Telecommunications (Camtel). The installed infrastructure consists of a 96-strand G652 type fibre optic laid underground and a joint box on the River Ntem Bridge that connects the two countries.
“To protect this new, cutting-edge infrastructure against vandalism, adequate security measures have been adopted. In addition, the interconnection has been tested and certified to be technically functioning. According to ITU standards, the availability of service rate is nearly 100 per cent, “As stated by Clement.
The interconnection has a capacity of about 100 Tbps, allowing for e-learning, videoconferencing, e-commerce, telework, telemedicine, and file transfers, among other things. The development results from a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by Gabon and Cameroon on November 28, 2019, in Libreville and is part of the Central African Backbone (CAB) project.
“Optic fibre plays a critical role in sub-regional integration,” Minister Libom Li Likeng remarked. That is why they are investing in collaborative projects. As a result, fibre optic deployment has increased, new potential in areas such as health, education, online banking, administration, social networking, and internet telephony.”
The infrastructure is expected to boost ICT adoption and close the digital divide, improving digital services’ quantitative and qualitative availability at lower costs promoting sub-regional integration.
