Zimbabwe to be hooked to high capacity telecoms pipe

Zimbabwe is to be hooked up to the high-capacity West Africa Cable System (Wacs), the submarine telecommunications pipe that extends from SA to London along Africa's west coast, thanks to a deal its incumbent fixed-line operator has concluded with its Namibia counterpart.

The announcement was made by Namibia's ministry of information and communication technology, according to a report.

According to the report, Zimbabwe's Tel One signed the deal for access to Wacs with Telecom Namibia.

The two companies agreed to interconnect Zimbabwe and Namibia using fibre-optic cable between Victoria Falls and Katima Mulilo. The project, to be completed by June 2013, will be spearheaded by a joint working group to be established by the end of the month, the report says.

Part of the capacity is being provided by Namibian electricity utility NamPower.

Zimbabwe will be connected via Namibia's Wacs landing station located in the coastal town of Swakopmund, about 350km west of the capital, Windhoek.

Tel One already has access to the East Africa Submarine System (Eassy) via Mozambique. It is an investor in Eassy through the West Indian Ocean Cable Company.