South Africa has signed a memorandum of understanding to help fund a USD 700 million submarine cable to boost broadband capacity and ease internet tariffs. The shareholder''s agreement will be signed on 15 April with financial close the same day, said Lulu Bam, a spokeswoman for the Department of Public Enterprises, said in a statement. South Africa''s state-owned telecom infrastructure company, Broadband Infraco, will hold a 26 percent stake in the cable project with the remainder in private hands. South Africa has only one cable linking it to the rest of the world and this has been controlled by former monopoly Telkom. Telkom''s market dominance is being challenged by Neotel, South Africa''s second telephone network operator, which has signed an agreement to help build the Seacom submarine cable along the country''s east coast. The new government-backed cable, first announced last year, will connect South Africa to India and Europe and was expected to enter service by early 2009.



Source:Telecompaper

Tags:Cable