Bharti Airtel has spent about $500 million on fiber optic cables in the last two years.
According to Ajay Chitkara, the chief financial officer of Global Data Business at Bharti Airtel said, “Our investment of over $500million over the last two years are designed to create a global network that offers unmatched resilience and maximum diversity,”
Eassy is the first East coast system to connect a direct route to Europe thereby helping to deliver data traffic faster to key internet peering points in Europe and North America.
Chikara said the commencement of the Eassy cable system is a significant step in the firm’s journey to creating a robust undersea cable infrastructure for its customers.
“It will safeguard and ensure all time connectivity of East African countries with the World,” he said.
Expectations are high that the cable system will improve broadband connectivity to all parts of Africa.
According to Mickhael Ghossein, a shareholder in the WIOCC, EASSy will provide customers in Kenya with a reliable high-speed option for connectivity into the global super-highway.
“It complements the investments we are continuing to make in building an improved national infrastructure for Kenya, in developing ICT services that meet the needs of Kenya’s business community, and in improving the day-to-day lives of Kenyans. The promise to our customers is that of a better online experience – with higher speeds and greater reliability increasing our nation’s ability to compete effectively in international markets and to take advantage of global sources of information,” he said.
“Our mission here at Orange is to connect every Kenyan through integrated communication solutions that simplify and enrich their lives. The arrival of the EASSy cable is a crucial step towards achieving this goal,” he added.
BRIAN ADERO in Nairobi, Kenya
