East Africa: historic internet launch
The first undersea internet cable linking East Africa to the rest of the world was launched this month, June 2009, in Kenya. The 5,000km cable stretches from Fujairah in United Arab Emirates, passing through the Indian Ocean to Kenya.
Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki described the launch on 12 June in Mombasa as an event of "historic proportions". The 130-million-US-dollar cable will connect Kenya's coastal town of Mombasa, and other East African countries to international communications networks. Kibaki said the new connection will boost development, and has ordered the Ministry of Information and Communication to design programmes for the training and development of youth in Kenya. East Africa's coast had been the longest coastline in the world without a fibre-optic cable linking it to the rest of the world.
Source: Panos London
