The installation of the first direct link between Africa and South America is nearing completion. The wet-plant installation is progressing in accordance to the plan and the cables will arrive in Brazil at the beginning of February 2018. Construction works of the landing station/data center in Fortaleza, Brazil is also progressing well.
Angola Cables CEO, António Nunes said that following the completion of the installation work, a period of testing will begin and the company expects to have the cable fully operational by Q3 of 2018.
When the installation of the 6,300km submarine cable is completed, SACS will be able to offer a capacity of 40 Tbps, between South America and Africa and a latency of approximately 63 milliseconds. This represents a significant improvement in performance when compared to the existing link of 350 milliseconds.
“From a global traffic perspective, the introduction of SACS between Angola and Brazil opens a new routing. South America will be able to reach Europe and Asia avoiding the USA and Africa will be able to reach the USA without linking through Europe,” said Nunes. “The SACS project presents a unique platform for us to build a South-South network configuration on a global scale.”
The completed project will also significantly upscale the digital economies of various African and South American countries and improve global communication efficiencies for enterprise customers in Africa, Latin America and the USA.
Nunes stated that the ambitious undertaking to complete the connection of the two continents within a challenging timeframe is on track and on schedule.
“SACS is a ‘game changer.’ It provides a catalyst and springboard for the expansion of Internet Exchange Points and related infrastructure investments,” adds Nunes. “Through SACS, Southern Hemisphere countries will be more connected and in a better position to drive the development of the region’s digital economy.”
