The Equiano submarine cable system is in the news again. This time it’s thanks to Telecom Egypt, which has announced the activation of an agreement with St Helena, the British Overseas Territory. St Helena is a remote volcanic outpost in the South Atlantic Ocean with a population of around 4,400, according to a 2021 census.
Telecom Egypt has arranged with the St Helena government to connect the island to Egypt’s subsea system over the Equiano submarine cable system, along with the associated high-speed internet. Telecom Egypt will, in fact, provide St Helena with its first fibre optic connection to the rest of the world.
The St Helena government is working on creating a new local network covering the entire area of the island and connecting it to the Equiano cable landing station, to ensure that an integrated package of services based on high-speed fibre-optic technology is provided to all homes and businesses on the island.
The length of the submarine cable linking St Helena to Egypt Telecom’s cable system is 1,140 kilometres. The cable extends along the western coast of the African continent, linking St Helena Island with Portugal and South Africa.
Telecom Egypt has also supported the government of St Helena in the design, installation and preparation of the network equipment and the submarine cable.
As we reported at the time, Telecom Egypt and the St Helena government signed the agreement to connect the island to Telecom Egypt’s subsea system over the Equiano submarine cable system in late 2020. The original plan was for the cable, along with the associated high speed internet, to be delivered to the island by early 2022.