Bandwidth problems in West Africa may soon become a thing of the past when the Africa Coast to Europe (ACE) broadband submarine cable comes online this December. The US$700 million will interconnect a total of 23 countries in Europe and West Africa, including two Integra and GBI clients, Nigeria and Ghana. This massive infrastructure project aims to bring high-speed broadband internet to these developing countries in order to reduce the digital divide and serve as “a vector of social development and economic growth in Africa.”

Led by the France Telecom company, this broadband system will extend over 17,000 km to from Brittany in France to Cape Town in South Africa. Parts of Europe and 16 West African countries will be interconnected by the submarine cable. Connectivity will extend even to the landlocked nations of Mali and Niger who will be connected via their own terrestrial links.

The cable itself has an initial 1.92 terabytes per second (Tb/s) capacity that can be upgraded to a whopping 5.12 Tb/s. ACE will use cutting edge fiber optic technology developed by Alcatel-Lucent that offers a higher quality of high-speed broadband than satellite at a lower cost. Utilizing new wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM)technology, the ACE stations can be upgraded without any actual modifications to the cable itself. This is a significant increase in the broadband capacity for these countries. Gambia for example, is estimated to have an increase in capacity by a factor of 16.

Increasing bandwidth capacity is crucial for enabling increased broadband penetration rates within a county. In 2011, the Broadband Commission for Digital Development issued a report that identified broadband as a “tool of unprecedented power” in helping countries meet the millennial development goals in 2015. Additionally, a report from the World Bank showed that a 10% increase in broadband penetration in developing economies correlates with a 1.38% contribution to economic growth.  With ACE online, West Africa will be able to access a plethora of new opportunities.