Wholesale carrier Angola Cables says that construction ofthe South Atlantic Cable System (SACS) continues to progress with an official launch in Sangano, Angola. Beginning in Angola,the undersea cable network will be the first direct subsea link between Africa and South America in the southern hemisphere.Angolan Minister of telecommunications and technologies José Carvalho da Rocha, local and international business leaders, the shareholders, and guests of Angola Cables all attended the launch event.
Extending over 6,500 km to Fortaleza, Brazil, SACS is a submarine cable with 40 Tbps of capacity,Angola Cables says.Contractor NEC Corp. began constructing SACS in 2016 (see "NEC begins construction of South Atlantic Cable System"). Installation of SACS began on the Angolan coast in the municipality of Quissama. According to Angola Cables, the installation will enable Angola to improve the region's digital economy and global communications.
"For Angolans, the time to access content available in America – the largest center for the production and aggregation of digital content and services – will improve fivefold," said António Nunes, Angola Cable's CEO.
It currently takes about 300 ms to connect Angola and Brazil, according to Angola Cables. With SACS, the carrier expects a decrease in latency to about 60 ms. Angola Cables says that the launch of SACS will implement an important transition in Africa's telecommunications sector once the entire network, including data centers, internet exchange points, and other associated elements, is finished.
"Angola is becoming one of the telecommunications hubs in sub-Saharan Africa," added Nunes. "Current cable systems, such as WACS, together with the SACS and Monet cables systems – complemented by local data centers – will improve connectivity, but also economically benefit Angola and the surrounding regions as tech companies requiring high connectivity establish and grow their operations in Africa."
Since many levels of interaction and activity are required with several entities simultaneously, presenting a critical and high-risk moment, the cable's installation phase on the Angolan shore is one of the project's crucial elements. Angora Cables says the project is well-planned, and aspects affecting the protection of the cable, as well as the teams, are being analyzed.
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