The French territory of Réunion, about 2 600 km off the east coast of South Africa, is strengthening its ties with Africa.
French telecommunications companies Orange and Free announced in the first week of September that they are helping to fund a new EUR93 million subsea cable between the island and South Africa. The EU’s Connecting Europe Facility is contributing EUR20 million, the European Regional Development Fund EUR30 million, the French government EUR6.5 million, with the balance from the two corporates.
While the landing sites have yet to be confirmed the new cable is scheduled to go into service in 2028 – in time to replace the ageing Safe subsea cable, which was commissioned in 2002, reports CNBC Africa.
The new cable will join the Metiss cable, commissioned in 2021, to become the island’s only direct long-haul international cables, according to TechCentral.
ITWeb Africa reports the Réunion cable will feature 16 fibre pairs, with each pair having a capacity of 20 Tbps.
Orange Marine, the installation and maintenance subsidiary of the French group, is contracted to lay the cable, which was designed and manufactured by Alcatel Submarine Networks. Orange will act as the landing party in Réunion.
‘This future cable is key to La Réunion’s digital development and regional growth; it will meet rising traffic demands and a need for resilience,’ according to Jean-Louis le Roux, executive vice-president of Orange International Networks.
