March 19, 2024

The Fifth Kenya Submarine Cable ‘DARE 1’ Lands in Mombasa

Transport Shipping and Maritime PS Nancy Karigithu pulling the DARE 1 cable in Nyali Beach on Friday. Image Raymond Mwakwaya

By The Coast Newspaper Team

Email: thecoastnewspaper@gmail.com

Kenya has acquired the fifth submarine cable network sourced from the      Djibouti Regional African Express 1 that landed in Mombasa on Friday.

The 36 terabyte cable is expected to provide additional transmission options in the country and will be the greatest in East African region.

Speaking to telecommunication providers during the launch of Djibouti Africa Regional Express 1 Cable system Principal Secretary in charge of Transport Shipping and Maritime Nancy Karigithu says the DARE1 cable has the largest capacity amongst all cables that have made landing at the port of Mombasa.  

PS Karigithu has called on youths to embrace the new technological advancement in order to improve their wellbeing.

According to the PS  the cable system will not only address the challenges of youth unemployment but also empower their social and economic wellbeing.

“DARE 1 will facilitate communication and boost African economies. The project will again open diverse ICT opportunities among the youth,” she noted.

She reiterated the government commitment in supporting the initiative.

Telecommunication technocrats pull the DARE 1 cable at Nyali Beach on Friday. Image Raymond Mwakwaya

Meanwhile, Telkom Managing Director in charge of Carrier Services George Kebaso Mogoki said the cable system will usher in a unique investment to the country.

Kebaso said the system will also unlock new markets for content development networks and other service providers.

“DARE 1 cable now strategically boosts Mombasa position as a co-location hub and Kenya gateway into East Africa, given the ability to move data quickly and cheaply,” he explained.

He added that the ushering in of the cable system will open up ICT opportunities among the youth and the citizens in general.

He pointed out “DARE 1 will ensure the development and diversification of local content at the grass root level hence open up space for future carriers in the ICT industry,” 

The DARE 1 Cable system with a finalized length of 4800 km is the first regional cable dedicated to connect East Africa region.

It is expected to deliver up to 36 Terabit of capacity in Kenya, and provide affordable abundant internet bandwidth to Kenya and the great lake countries.

The cable will facilitate connectivity between Mombasa and Djibouti thereby creating the shortest, most efficient route from East Africa to Europe through Djibouti.

The cable shall be built with the 100capacity per wavelength Gbps wavelength technology adaptable to future technology.

Meanwhile the director of International Business at Djibouti Telecom Mohammed Ahmed who was in attendance at the launch says “We believe that this investment will catalyze the advent of many more cables, especially to businesses looking to commoditize data in Kenya. As technology gets more sophisticated, we are constantly looking at less costly and more efficient alternatives and this is a good example of what cooperation can do”

He added that the first rising requirements of cloud based technology businesses and their customers, as well as the search for the smallest possible delays in transaction times has seen businesses seek alternative data options.   

The DARE 1 idea was mooted in 2018 paving way for a yearlong planning process to chart the cable route from Djibouti to Kenya.

The process of building and laying of the DARE 1 cable has been ongoing for the past three months before landing in Mombasa on Friday.

Telkom Kenya will now take up the task of laying and managing the inland fiber optic cabling to various territorial location across the cou

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