The benefits of data cable landing in Toti
The cable is expected to massively boost internet and data services across the countries it connects.
THERE was much funfare at the beginning of February when the longest undersea internet cable in the world landed in Amanzimtoti where it will be routed to a landing station in Arbour Road.
ALSO READ: Toti waters host international cable-laying ship
Laid by the West Indian Ocean Cable Company (WIOCC) and Open Access Data Centres, the 45 000km long cable will connect Europe, Africa, and Asia to improve internet connection and cloud computing.
Ryan Sher, chief operating officer at WIOCC, said cloud computing has changed the world, and the changing world has, in turn, accelerated the evolution and uptake of the cloud.
“From large, critical customer-facing applications to internal collaboration tools, such as video conferencing, almost every business uses the cloud in some form. Cloud providers in southern Africa are aware that the mass migration to the cloud has brought with it demand, speed, latency and data sovereignty challenges, and so they’ve reacted pragmatically by moving their services and the data supporting them closer to their users in South Africa and other African countries,” said Sher.
Cloud computing is when a network of remote servers is hosted on the internet to store, manage, and process data, rather than a local server or a personal computer. Companies that store a gigantic amount of data, like Facebook and Google, depend on cloud providers.
Sher said that meeting their needs requires a pan-African network of core data centres interconnected over hyper-scale terrestrial and undersea cable systems which the cloud giants can leverage for their products and services. He said between five and 10 years ago, 90% of the capacity underpinning the internet was bought by internet service providers, mobile operators and carriers. Today, the equivalent proportion is closer to 20%.
“Seen and understood this way, the 2Africa cable landing in Amanzimtoti will facilitate this next iteration of the internet in South Africa. In other words, it is about fast-tracking the country and region’s journey towards enjoying a feast of competitive offerings presented on the digital table,” said Sher.
DID YOU KNOW?
Click on the words highlighted in red to read more on this and related topics. To receive news links via WhatsApp or Telegram, send an invite to 061 694 6047.
Do you have more information pertaining to this story? Feel free to let us know by commenting on our Facebook page or you can contact our newsroom at 031 903 2341 and speak to a journalist.
(Comments posted on this issue may be used for publication in the Sun)
