A new broadband infrastructure set to usher in fastest Internet in the region landed in Mombasa Friday.
Djibouti’s main telecommunications company, Djibouti Telcom, the leading telecommunications company in Somalia, Somtel and the government of Kenya through Telkom Kenya witnessed the landing of “DARE 1” (Djibouti African Regional Express) at Nyali Beach Mombasa.
Speaking during the occasion Friday, Maritime and Shipping affairs PS Nancy Karigithu said the 36TB (Terabyte) fibre cable, projected to run approximately 4,000km interconnecting Kenya to Djibouti, is an important milestone within the submarine cable space.
Karigithu said the DARE I will have direct benefits to Kenya with the eventual gains realized on cost for the end customer and the economy through faster and affordable Internet, with majority of the existing East African submarine broadband infrastructure nearing its 20-year shelf-life.
The 36 Terabite(TB) capacity is five times faster than the current 5 TB in the country, thus creating an opportunity for automation of services at faster speeds with reliable internet.
DARE1 is an eight course fibre optic undersea cable which will sufficiently address internet connectivity in the country to a higher notch. The new fibre optic cable is the fifth cable in the country.
Karigithu added that the new cable gives an immense opportunity for the youth in this country to enhance their skills in technology, giving them an avenue to search for employment as well to work online.
The cable is built with the 100 Gbps wavelength technology which is adaptable to future technology.
DARE 1 will provide affordable and abundant internet bandwidth to Kenya and the Great Lake countries from June 2020.
The PS said the new cable will also provide resilient and secure network connectivity to Kenya at affordable fees with plans to expand to remote areas in the country through community information Hubs.
By Joseph Kamolo
