03 August 2009.
South Africa is now on par with the rest of the world as faster, cheaper broadband access has been installed.
In May earlier this year it was announced that South Africa was set to receive an underground cable to increase the speed and reduce the price of Internet access. You may have noticed increased road works in your neighbourhood recently, which was most likely the installation ofthe new Seacom cable which is going to bring the country this faster,cheaper Internet. The good news is that it went live on 23 July 2009.
According to a news update on the Seacom website, the cable is 17 000km long, connects southern and eastern Africa to Europe and South Asia, and provides Internet access at 1.28 terabytes per second. This initiative, powered by Neotel, aims to provide the continent with wider access to the Internet at a low cost and at a higher capacity. This means that consumers will be able to use more bandwidth at a lower price than what they currently pay.
However, consumers will only see a drastic change in the price and speed of Internet over the medium-to –long term. According to
News24.com, we may only experience a slight drop in price now as the cost of international bandwidth to service providers decreases. An article on
MyBroadBand reports that consumers will have to wait until the service providers make their announcements of cheaper and faster broadband services, which may only occur in a year or two’s time.
The installation of the Seacom cable is expected to help South Africa reach its expected bandwidth requirements in time for the 2010 Soccer World Cup. It is important that the country be in constant communication with the rest of the world, from a South African consumer, tourist and business point of view. In an article on Bizcommunity, Stephen Newton, the South African Manager of Google, says that this is especially important for businesses during the economic recession, as the Internet provides them with the opportunity to target consumers in a low-cost and effective way.
Brian Herlihy, CEO of Seacom, is quoted on the Seacom website saying that "[The launch of Seacom on 23 July 2009 was] a historic day for Africa and marks the dawn of a new era for communications between the continent and the rest of the world. Our tireless efforts of the past 24 months have come to fruition, and we are proud to be the first to provide affordable, high quality broadband capacity and experience to east African economies. Turning the switch ‘on’ creates a huge anticipation but ultimately, Seacom will be judged on the changes that take place on the continent over the coming years."
