DAKAR (Reuters) – A subsea cable owned by Google that guarantees to double internet speeds for hundreds of thousands in Africa arrived in Togo on Friday, the corporate mentioned, the newest step in a multi-year venture to supply cheaper entry to customers throughout the continent.
The Equiano cable, the primary of its sort to achieve Africa, has wound its manner from Portugal and can double internet velocity for Togo’s 8 million residents, Google mentioned in a press release.
That could also be a style of issues to return for different international locations set to learn in a area the place internet use is rising fast however the place networks are sometimes cripplingly sluggish and are a drag on financial improvement.
The new line will even make land in Nigeria, Namibia and South Africa, with doable branches providing connections to close by international locations. It is predicted to start out working by the tip of the yr.
Sub-Saharan Africa is the world’s least-connected area, with round 1 / 4 of the inhabitants nonetheless missing cell broadband protection in comparison with 7% globally, in response to a 2020 report by GSMA Intelligence.
Most international locations in West Africa are on the backside of a World Bank international rating on internet penetration.
Togo would be the first to learn. The cable is predicted to cut back internet costs by 14% by 2025, in response to an Africa Practice and Genesis Analytics evaluation commissioned by Google.
Google mentioned the cable will not directly create 37,000 jobs in Togo by 2025 and enhance GDP by $193 million.
(Reporting by Sofia Christensen; Editing by Edward McAllister)
