The EASSy fiber optic solution is a game-changer for Africa's telecommunications landscape. It's a 10,000 km long fiber optic cable system that connects 22 African countries.
This massive project was led by South Africa's Telkom, with the goal of improving internet connectivity and reducing costs for international data transfer. The EASSy system was launched in 2009.
The EASSy system has a design capacity of 1.92 terabits per second, making it one of the fastest and most reliable fiber optic cables in Africa.
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Key Features
The EASSy cable system is a 10,000km submarine cable system along the east coast of Africa.
It spans 9 landing stations in Sudan, Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, Comoros, Madagascar, Mozambique, and South Africa.
The system provides a backhaul system for at least 12 landlocked countries, enabling wide coverage in the East African region.
The EASSy cable system was ready for service in July 2010.
It comprises two fiber pairs, initially designed with 68*10Gbps DWDM technology.
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The design capacity was upgraded to 4.72 Tbps in 2011 with ASN's 40Gbps wavelength technology.
The system's capacity was further upgraded to more than 10Tbps with ASN's 100Gbps technology in 2014.
It was upgraded again with Ciena's GeoMesh Extreme solutions to reach a system capacity of 36Tbps.
The EASSy project costs an initial investment of approximately US$ 235 million.
The EASSy Consortium consists of 18 members, including major telecommunications companies and operators.
Capacity and Design
The EASSy submarine cable system has undergone a significant upgrade to increase its capacity and design. The upgrade has effectively doubled its network capacity from 18Tb/s to 36Tb/s across the system.
This upgrade was necessary to keep pace with ongoing bandwidth growth in sub-Saharan Africa. The EASSy system now leverages Ciena's GeoMesh Extreme technology to maximize fibre capacity and reduce the transported cost per bit.
The EASSy system has also more than doubled its network design capacity, with a regional capacity of 1.4 Tbits/sec. This is the highest capacity in the region, making it a significant improvement over the previous design.
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This increased capacity will enable the EASSy consortium to support the enhanced bandwidth requirements of the region. The upgrade will also provide an international gateway for the region, connecting eight countries from Sudan to South Africa.
The EASSy submarine cable system spans nearly 10,000 km, linking eight countries across the continent.
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