Sky this morning mentioned SeaCom. Now I’ve heard rumours for a long time of another pipe being laid under the ocean connecting South Africa with the rest of the world.
The result - MORE BANDWIDTH! CHEAP BANDWIDTH (well, if I can believe the Sky reporter)
I heard rumours over the last few months that the SeaCom project was being postponed due to political issues. The South African government wanted to own the entire pipe which is difficult considering one side of the pipe is in South Africa and the other side in a FOREIGN COUNTRY.
But apparently SeaCom is going ahead. The cost - around R4 Billion. The result - priceless!
3 responses so far ↓
1 Anthony // Nov 15, 2007 at 9:40 am
Hi Eric.
Bring it on, is what I say. The government didn’t quite want to own the whole thing, they wanted SADC governments to be in control and, in particular, they wanted to control the entry into South Africa. This was supposedly to regulate the price to bring down the cost of bandwidth.
Here’s an idea: why doesn’t the government finance another pipe. Nothing brings down the price of bandwidth like over-supply.
Regards,
Anthony
2 Graham // Nov 15, 2007 at 5:05 pm
I get really excited when I read things like this, cheaper bandwidth means more people online. I also get really excited when the SA gov listens to South Koreans and the Chinese and really believe that there are opportunities online that could put a significant dent in SA unemployment.
Graham
3 Agent Craig // Nov 20, 2007 at 8:52 am
It’s definitely not a rumour.
There was of course the usual BEE issues. So the final solution involves donating the entire section of the pipe which is in South African waters to a BEE company (excuse me I forget the nitty gritty.) That includes the landing section somewhere on the coast of Natal. The route goes something like: Cairo, Mombai, Madagascar, Natal coast..
Anyway hopefully someone who actually has all the facts can tell all! Exciting times
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