Senegalese incumbent to switch on ACE link in 1H12

Senegal’s incumbent fixed line operator Sonatel plans to start using the Africa Coast to Europe (ACE) submarine cable system from the first half of 2012. The cable, which links France and South Africa along the west coast of Africa, spans 17,000km and cost around EUR690 million (USD923 million) to build. It is hoped the ACE cable will fulfil Sonatel’s internet capacity requirements for the next decade. The telco has put in place equipment at two landing points in Ouakam and Ifan, according to local press reports. Sonatel currently has 7Gbps in international bandwidth and is upgrading this to 10Gbps by the end of 2011.