MainOne, a connectivity and data centre solutions company says its investing $20m to expand its undersea cable footprint in West Africa after securing a licence in Cote D’Ivoire.
The tech company says it has received the C1B license from Bruno Koné, the country’s Minister for Communication, Digital Economy and Postal Services to land its trans-Atlantic submarine cable and build transmission infrastructure in Cote D’Ivoire.
Under the plan, MainOne says it will focus on the provision of wholesale connectivity services and will commence the construction of its digital transmission cable in June 2018, to be concluded in the second half of 2019.
Also the MainOne landing cable will provide open-access infrastructure within Cote D’Ivoire to expand Internet access for all users in the region and support rapid development as well as facilitate increased non-resources trade and improve public services to aid the evolution of regional businesses, according to a press statement from MainOne.
Funke Opeke, CEO of Mainone says that “by investing and encouraging the business ecosystem within West Africa, we hope to bring meaningful technology solutions to businesses, to enable them in their quest for improved productivity and efficiency through dedicated and reliable connectivity services. We are prepared to collaborate with incumbent operators towards enhancing regional integration and global access.”
Opeke says “MainOne is committed to deepening broadband access via fibre infrastructure and data centres across West Africa. With service delivery in 10 countries including Nigeria, Ghana, Cote D’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Togo, Cameroun, Benin, Niger, Senegal and Chad, MainOne operates a 100G international submarine cable system which guarantees highly reliable connectivity to support the growing demand for Internet access and bandwidth-intensive applications such as eCommerce, Content providers, OTT players and electronic banking and payment services via 3/4G mobile networks.”
In his response Bruno Koné, Ivorian Minister for Communication says that the construction of a fourth cable authorised by the government will improve the international connectivity of the country and will provide a lot more opportunities for the national market while increasing competition.
“We have just taken an important step through this authorization for the improvement of the telecommunication infrastructure of our country, specifically the improvement of international connectivity.”
According to the Minister, “MainOne cable will have an impact on price and quality and will strengthen the security of our infrastructure.
”The entry of MainOne, an open-access connectivity services provider will further democratize the international bandwidth market in Cote D’Ivoire and neighboring countries and drive down bandwidth costs for local Internet Service Providers, Telcos and indigenous businesses”, he adds.
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