Cameroon and Gabon have deployed and officially launched a 22km interconnected fibre network, ITWeb reported. This means telecommunication exchanges between the two countries will be direct and not facilitated through international submarine cables, thereby reducing costs.
Ngongeh Ayafor Clement, Technical Director at Cameroon Telecommunications (Camtel) said the backbone of each country was connected via Kye-Ossi in Cameroon and Bitam in Gabon. The deployed infrastructure consists of a 96-strand, G652-type fibre laid underground, with a joint box located on the River Ntem Bridge separating both countries.
Clement said appropriate measures have been taken to secure this new infrastructure from vandalism. The interconnection has been tested and confirmed technically viable and the availability of service rate stands at nearly 100 percent, in accordance with ITU standards. The latest interconnection offers a capacity of approximately 100 Tbps.
The development stems from an MoU signed on 28 November 2019 in Libreville between Gabon and Cameroon and forms part of the broader Central African Backbone (CAB) project. The infrastructure is expected to increase ICT adoption and reduce the digital divide, improve quantitatively and qualitatively offer digital services at reduced cost and foster sub-regional integration.
