• Join the dots

    Join the dots

    Communication between Africa and South America is set to strengthen thanks to two new undersea cables.

    The 6 000 km South Atlantic Inter Link (SAIL) will link Fortaleza, Brazil and Kribi, Cameroon, providing 32 Tbps, according to a Balancing Act report. As of May this year, 3 000 km of cable had already been laid. The US$410 million project is due for completion by end-2018.

    Meanwhile, another cable will link Fortaleza to Luanda, Angola. With a US$278 million price tag, the 6 300 km South Atlantic Cable System (SACS) will also connect to the existing Monet cable – which links Santos and Fortaleza with Florida in the US. It will provide 40 Tbps, with a latency of 63 milliseconds, between Africa and South America.

    SACS is on track to be fully operational by the end of the year.

    7 August 2018
    Image: Gallo/Getty Images