2011
September 2011
WIOCC CEO named as one of the 100 most powerful people in global telecommunications
Chris Wood, CEO of Africa’s carriers’ carrier WIOCC (www.wiocc.net), was yesterday (28-09-11) named as one of the 100 most powerful people in the global telecommunications industry.
Global Telecoms Business magazine has ranked WIOCC’s Chris Wood 46th in its 4th annual Power 100 list – a listing of the 100 most powerful people in the global telecommunications industry. The list is compiled each year from nominations by worldwide readers of the magazine – including CEOs, CFOs and other senior executives of the world’s major operators, telecom vendors and industry organisations.
May 2011
WIOCC Partners with Global Crossing to Expand Global Footprint
WIOCC has announced the interconnection of its network with that of Global Crossing, a leading global IP solutions provider, in order to meet the rapid growth in demand for cost-effective, high-quality, end-to-end connectivity between Africa and the rest of the world. "This strategic relationship with Global Crossing, with its comprehensive global network reach, significantly improves our ability to deliver end-to-end service to WIOCC customers in Africa and the rest of the world,” said WIOCC CEO Chris Wood.
2010
December 2010
EASSy Announces System Upgrade
Mr Chris Wood, CEO of WIOCC and Co-Chair of the EASSy Management Committee, today announces on behalf of the EASSy submarine fibre-optic cable Management Committee that the EASSy system will be upgraded in 2011, more than doubling the current available capacity on the system.
July 2010
Press Release (Africa)
The WIOCC-EASSy fibre optic cable goes live this Friday July 16th, marking the final completion and commencement of a very successful construction program which started in Maputo, Mozambique in December 2009.
July 2010
Press Release (International)
New submarine fibre-optic cable system to provide reliable, high-speed, low-cost communication with 21 African countries and transform the business model for broadband connectivity to and from the region.
April 2010
EASSy construction completed ahead of schedule
The construction of WIOCC’s East African Submarine Cable System (EASSy) is complete, marking the achievement of yet another major milestone towards the launch of what will be the largest cable system serving sub-Saharan African and connecting it to the world.
April 2010
EASSy fibre optic cable lands in Dar-es-Salaam
The East African Submarine Cable System (EASSy) landed in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania this week bringing the construction phase of the project even closer to completion.
March 2010
EASSy fibre optic cable arrives in Mombasa
The East African Submarine Cable System (EASSy) landed in Mombasa, Kenya last weekend, bringing the construction phase of the project even closer to completion.The move expected to lower data transmission and Internet access costs.
February 2010
EASSy on Schedule as it lands in Djibouti and South Africa
The landing of the East African Submarine Cable System (EASSy) in Djibouti and South Africa marks the achievement of a significant milestone towards completion of what will be the largest cable system serving Africa's eastern seaboard.
February 2010
EASSy cable to land in SA this weekend
A significant milestone will be achieved this weekend when the EASSy undersea cable lands in Mtunzini, on the north coast of Kwa-Zulu Natal. This will be the only landing of the EASSy cable in South Africa and heralds the start of the final stage of the long process of planning, financing, designing and building this important African East Coast consortium cable system.
2009
December 2009
EASSy Reaches African Shores — The Continent’s Largest Submarine Cable Hits the Water
The East African Submarine Cable System (EASSy) today announced the commencement of the installation of its submarine system, which started with the landing of the 40km-long shore-end cable at Maputo Bay, Mozambique. This marks a major milestone in the construction of the new system which will deliver 1.4 Terabits per second (Tbps) of capacity along Africa's eastern seaboard.
November 2009
First segment of EASSy is completed
The West Indian Ocean Cable Company (WIOCC) has announced that the first section of the EASSy system is laid in Maputo Bay, Mozambique marking a major milestone in the system's construction. WIOCC will offer a range of services to African and international carriers, extending the reach of the EASSy network through interconnection agreements with operators of other international submarine cable systems giving access to Asia, the Middle East, Europe and the Americas.
WIOCC will also take advantage of its owners' extensive national networks to extend services from EASSy's coastal landing stations to key cities in each country, and for the first time open up access to many land-locked countries in Africa's interior. The East African Submarine Cable system (EASSy) project consists of the construction of a 10,000 km fibre-optic submarine cable along the East African coast, linking Sudan to South Africa with other landing points in Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania Comoros, Madagascar and Mozambique. In a related project, EASSy signatories are building of terrestrial fibre backhauls to link the land-locked countries of the region to the cable (Ethiopia, Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Swaziland and Lesotho).
November 2009
World Bank lauds its public-private sector partnerships
The World Bank hailed its public-private partnerships in Africa at a forum this week, terming them key to removing regional connectivity challenges for land-locked countries. "It is important for governments to partner with the private sector, cushion against risky large investments, but allow the projects to be driven by the private sector," said Philippe Dongier, ICT sector manager at the World Bank. The World Bank is supporting large-scale undersea fiber-optic and terrestrial fiber projects in eastern, southern, central and west Africa. All of the projects involve investments from the private sector, but also significant investments from governments.
The East and Southern Africa Regional Communication Infrastructure Program is one of the successful public-private partnerships the World Bank has invested in. The US$424 million project supports terrestrial connectivity infrastructure in Burundi, Kenya, Madagascar, Rwanda, Mozambique, Malawi, Tanzania and is open to 18 other countries. The Central African Backbone Program, with a US$215 million investment supports regional connectivity for Cameroon, Chad, CAR and is open to eight other countries, while EASSy submarine cable is one of three cables connecting East and Southern Africa to international communications systems.
The World Bank's investment in EASSy is expected to provide more competition and bring prices down. Dongier also cited the Burundi national backbone project, where the government has provided half of the money and there have been agreements on licensing and cost structures, guaranteeing affordability. "It is difficult to get cooperation among competitors, but with the government providing half of the investments, the backbone can progress," added Dongier. The World Bank's optimism is based on a new report that indicates that enabling environment for private investment can lead to 95% mobile voice coverage of the African population and 89% basic internet coverage between 2008-2018. Revising and harmonizing the legal and regulatory sector to accommodate rapid technological change and allowing competition in the sector are central to success for such projects, the report said.
EASSy does it in Mozambique
... will commence this week in Mozambique, according to an announcement by the consortium's largest investor The West Indian Ocean Cable Company (WIOCC). ...
EASSy starts work on first landing station
The West Indian Ocean Cable Company (WIOCC), the largest single investor in the East African Submarine System (EASSy), announced that construction is on schedule and the installation of the first landing will start in...
EASSy fibre link brews fresh internet price war
Prices will fall starting June,” said John Sihra, the chairman of West Indian Cable Company (WIOCC), the investment vehicle for EASSy. ..
WIOCC promises cheap internet through EASSy
The CEO of WIOCC Chris Wood assures Africans of reduced internet connectivity charges buoyed by the shareholding of the EASSy consortium which has ...
East Africa's Third Fiber-Optic Cable to Go Live in June 2010
The East African Submarine System, a fiber-optic cable linking 20 African countries, will go live on June 30, ...
La finalisation du câble sous-marin en Afrique fixée pour mi-2010 - High Tech ...
La firme d'installation du câble sous marin West Indian Ocean Cable Company (WIOCC), le plus grand investisseur individuel dans le Système sous-marin de ...
Blogs
Africa's undersea cable set for completion mid 2010 « Haaraa News
WIOCC is telecommunications carriers' carrier, jointly funded by 12 major telecommunications operators in east and southern Africa, and a number of global Development Financial Institutions. As the largest single investor in the EASSy ...
