Zambians get faster internet thanks to fibre-optic link
Zambia’s internet service provision is set to enter a new era as the country will now be using a fiber-optic link with Namibia to improve access to the web.
According to media reports, Zamnet Communications System, a Zambian ISP, has set up an Internet gateway to Europe using a fiber-optic link from Zambia to Namibia.
Computerworld said, the link was set up in partnership with the Zambia Electricity Supply Corp. (Zesco), a power utility company, Namibian Telecom and the South Atlantic West Africa Submarine (SAT3) cable that runs under the Indian Ocean on the West Coast of Africa to Europe.
Zamnet Communications System acting Managing Director Raphael Maseka said at a media briefing in Lusaka, Zambia, that the end-to-end optic connection from Zamnet’s server room to Europe was the first such link and will revolutionize Internet service provision in Zambia.
Zesco is a government-run power utility company that has installed its power lines across the country. The Zesco fiber cables that will be connected to networks in Botswana and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) provide Internet coverage and digital transmission for radio and television communication operators in Zambia.
Zamnet leveraged on Zesco’s fiber-optic infrastructure and cross-border interconnections with Telecom Namibia at the Katima Mulilo border. This will be the first time that Zambia is hooked to the outside world through a fiber-optic cable connection.
The Zambian government is planning to have 5, 000 kilometers of fiber cable by 2010 to ensure coverage throughout Zambia and it’s nearby countries.
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