French telecoms firm, Orange and West African Connectivity and Data Centre services provider, MainOne, in a bid to increase internet access in Africa have struck a partnership that will see the French telecoms’ giant co-invest in two new cable landing stations in Senegal and Cote d’Ivoire.
The broadband infrastructure provider will provide additional capacity via its 7,000km cable system from Europe to Africa with landing stations in Nigeria, Ghana and Portugal, reinforcing the position of both companies in the African telecommunications ecosystem.
Chief Executive Officer of MainOne, Funke Opeke, stated that the cable connection would benefit several countries in West Africa from better connectivity, lower prices and access to new services. She noted that the partnership underscores the company’s vision for a better-connected region.
“MainOne continues to lead the digital transformation of our sub-region by investing in affordable connectivity to drive economic development. Our objective is to bridge the digital divide between and within West Africa and the rest of the world.
“We are committed to deepening broadband penetration across West Africa and believe our investments in technologically advanced sub-sea infrastructure will continue to liberalize the international bandwidth market, further support Orange and other wholesale customers, and ultimately result in improved digital services in the region.”
Alioune Ndiaye, Chief Executive Officer of Orange Middle East and Africa stated that the development of new digital services in Africa had fostered huge social and economic development over the past few years.
According to Ndiaye, as barriers to access continue to fall with improved networks and more affordable equipment, Orange, as part of its multi-service strategy, is seeking to position itself as an important partner in the continent’s digital transformation through the partnership.
“Orange is set to secure and improve direct access to high-speed broadband services in two of its most important countries, Senegal and the Côte d’Ivoire.”
