Benguela – Angolan minister of Telecommunications, Information Technology and Mass Media Mário Oliveira Tuesday in Lobito, Benguela province, considered the terrestrial link via fibre optics among Angola, Zambia and the DRC a significant milestone for economic development of these countries.
The minister was speaking at the inauguration of the connection, by video call, with his counterparts from Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
During a ceremony, attended by the heads of State of the three countries - João Lourenço, Hakainde Hichilema and Félix Tshisekedi- Mário Oliveira said that the fibre optic connection will allow a significant improvement in the communication system among the respective countries.
"The connection enables a major contribution to regional integration, within the Southern African Development Community (SADC), and the African continent in general," he said.
He said starting from today, Zambia and the DRC can transport telecommunications traffic via the undersea cables that dock in Luanda (Angola) and then connect to the rest of the world.
Mário Oliveira also predicted that the connection will enable the growth of economies of the three countries and benefit their peoples.
"This connection will boost communications and integration at the level of the region," he said.
The terrestrial fiber connection with the DRC is provided by the operators Angola Telecom and Liquid DRC, through two point-to-point circuits, connecting Luanda and Kinshasa, over a length of 1,150 kilometers with a capacity of 40Gbps, and between Luanda and Cabinda (via the commune of Noqui - province of Zaire).
This allows access to voice and data services to national and foreign users.
The expansion plan for the terrestrial fiber optic network plans to reach optical channels of up to 100Gbps each.
The connection between Angola and Zambia is ensured by the operators Unitel and MTN, in a point-to-point connection with the border of Zambia, in the Karipande area (Moxico) to the PoP station of the company Angola Cables in Luanda, with a length of approximately 2,000 km.
The network is a DWDM system with 10Gbps optical (OCh) channels.
The completion of these connections is a historic moment for the three countries, in particular for the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
The process allows the countries bordering Zambia and the DRC to have regular access to communications and electronic service via Angola. EFTA/CRB/AL/ADR/DAN/NIC
