Afghanistan’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) has officially launched the ‘Wakhan Corridor Fiber Optic Survey Project’, the first phase of a plan to install a cross-border fiber link connecting Afghanistan with China. The programme looks to deploy 400km of fibre-optic cable to connect Faizabad in Badakhshan province to the Chinese border via the Wakhan corridor. The improved international connectivity is expected to help reduce internet prices and thereby spur take-up of internet services and encourage the creation of new jobs, the MCIT notes.
In a related development, meanwhile, the MCIT also confirmed that contracts to improve the network of Salam, the mobile division of state-backed telco Afghan Telecom (Aftel), had been approved. The work will see the cellco improve internet access speeds as well as increase capacity from 3.1 million to 6.1 million lines.