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Africa Telecom Transmission Maps on your Smartphone The Fibre Reach mobile map application highlights the extent of Africa’s live terrestrial transmission networks, and showcases new projects as they enter service, extending the reach of high capacity transmission networks across the region. Africa's international bandwidth will reach the 1 Tbps mark during 2012, but the key to future growth is delivering bandwidth to customers inland (see Africa: Africa’s International Bandwidth Approaches 1 Tbps Mark). This map shows the 396,766 route kilometres of live terrestrial fibre optic network in Africa (Q1, 2012), and the distance to nodes on these fibre networks. Every day, Africa’s fibre transmission networks are expanding, increasing the number of people that fall within reach of one of these networks. On average, 85-kms of new terrestrial fibre optic network has entered service per day in Africa in the last year (Q1, 2012). A further 66,640-km of fibre is currently under... Read More →

Africa’s international Internet bandwidth will reach the 1 Tbps mark during 2012. By December 2011, Africa’s total international Internet bandwidth reached 801 Gbps, a 60% increase compared to 2010. This was split between North Africa which increased by 45% to reach 433 Gbps, and Sub-Saharan Africa which increased by 82% to reach 368 Gbps. Africa previously reached the 500 Gbps mark in late 2010, and the 100 Gbps mark during 2008 (see Africa’s International Bandwidth Reaches 500 Gbps Mark). This figure of 368 Gbps for Sub-Saharan Africa is just a fraction of the total design capacity of 13.959 Tbps on the 13 submarine cables serving the region in December 2011. The amount of capacity which is actually lit (activated) on these cables is increased incrementally in line with demand. Following the entry into service of the LION2 submarine cable in April 2012 (1.28 Tbps), total design capacity on submarine cables serving sub-Saharan Africa will increase again to 25.799 Tbps once the WACS... Read More →