ACE (cable system)
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| Cable type | Submarine communications cable |
|---|---|
| Fate | Planned |
| First traffic | Q2 2012 (planned) |
| Design capacity | 5.12 Tbit/s |
| Area served | West African coast |
| Website | www.ace-submarinecable.com |
The ACE (Africa Coast to Europe) submarine communications cable is a cable system undergoing construction along the west coast of Africa between France and South Africa, planned by the ACE consortium which was initiated on June 5, 2010.
In its planned configuration, the 17,000 km-long fiber optic cable will be operational in the first half of 2012. It will connect 23 countries, either directly for coastal countries or indirectly through terrestrial links for landlocked countries, like Mali and Niger.
This will be the first international submarine cable to land in Equatorial Guinea, The Gambia, Guinea, Liberia, Mauritania, Sao Tome and Principe and Sierra Leone.
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[edit] ACE consortium
The Construction and Maintenance Agreement (C&MA) of ACE submarine cable project was signed on Saturday June 5, 2010.
The current members of the consortium are:
- Baharicom Development Company
- Cable Consortium of Liberia
- Companhia Santomense de Telecomunicações
- Côte d’Ivoire Telecom
- Expresso Telecom Group
- France Telecom
- Gamtel
- International Mauritania Telecom
- Orange Cameroun
- Orange Guinée
- Orange Mali
- Orange Niger
- PT Comunicações
- Republic of Equatorial Guinea
- Republic of Gabon
- Sierra Leone Cable Company
- Sonatel
- Sotelgui
[edit] Topology
The ACE system will deploy wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) technology, which is currently the most advanced for submarine cables. With WDM, cable capacity can be increased without additional submarine work. With an overall potential capacity of 5.12 Tbit/s, the system will support the 40 Gbit/s technology from its launch.
[edit] Landing points
The cable landing points are planned to be in the following countries and territories:[1]
- Penmarc'h, France
- Lisbon, Portugal
- Tenerife, Canary Islands (Spain)
- Nouakchott, Mauritania
- Dakar, Senegal
- Banjul, the Gambia
- Conakry, Guinea
- Freetown, Sierra Leone
- Monrovia, Liberia
- Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
- Accra, Ghana
- Cotonou, Benin
- Lagos, Nigeria
- Santana, São Tomé and Príncipe
- Kribi, Cameroon
- Bata, Equatorial Guinea
- Libreville, Gabon
- Muanda, Democratic Republic of Congo
- Luanda, Angola
- Swakopmund, Namibia
- Yzerfontein, South Africa
Besides the above landing points, there are plans to extend connectivity to landlocked countries Mali and Niger via terrestrial links.
[edit] See also
List of international submarine communications cables
Individual cable systems off the west coast of Africa include:
[edit] References
- "Africa Coast to Europe (ACE) Submarine Cable Consortium signs landmark Agreement in Paris". http://www.orange.com/en_EN/press/press_releases/att00015869/ACEPressrelease-CMAsignatureEN.pdf. Retrieved 2010-06-08.
- "ACE (Africa Coast to Europe) submarine cable welcomes new members". http://www.orange.com/en_EN/press/press_releases/att00014018/PR_ACE_en_011209.pdf. Retrieved 2009-12-01.
- "ACE (Africa Coast to Europe) submarine cable extended to South Africa". http://www.francetelecom.com/en_EN/press/press_releases/att00012462/ACE_cable_Press_release-06092009.pdf. Retrieved 2009-06-16.
