Nairobi News

Google has announced that it will build a fibre optic cable to connect Africa and Australia.

Named Umoja (a Swahili word for unity), one end of the cable will start in Kenya and pass through Uganda, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa (with access points for the countries) before crossing the Indian Ocean to the land Down Under.

Umoja will be Google’s second undersea cable in Africa after Equiano, linking the continent to the rest of the world. Once complete, it will help the country secure its eCitizen platform.

In a statement on Thursday, Google said the project aims to “increase digital connectivity, accelerate economic growth and deepen resilience across Africa”.

In addition to the cable itself, the company says it will work with the Kenyan government to promote cybersecurity, data-driven innovation, digital literacy, and responsible and safe use of AI.

“The new intercontinental fibre optic route will significantly enhance our global and regional digital infrastructure. This initiative is crucial in ensuring the redundancy and resilience of our region’s connectivity to the rest of the world, especially in light of recent disruptions caused by cuts to sub-sea cables,” said President William Ruto, who is expected back in the country from a State visit in the United States.

Umoja will be Kenya’s seventh undersea cable linking the country to other regions and the first ever fibre optic route connecting Africa with Australia.

Google will also sign a Statement of Collaboration with Kenya’s Ministry of Information Communications and the Digital Economy to accelerate joint efforts in cybersecurity, growing data-driven innovation, digital upskilling, and responsibly and safely deploying AI for societal benefits.

As part of the collaboration, Google Cloud and Kenya are announcing that they intend to work together to strengthen Kenya’s cybersecurity.

The Department of Immigration and Citizen Services is evaluating Google Cloud’s CyberShield solution and Mandiant expertise to strengthen the defence of its eCitizen platform.

CyberShield enables governments to build enhanced cyber threat capabilities, protect web-facing infrastructure, and help teams develop skills and processes that drive effective security operations.

“Access to the latest technology, supported by reliable and resilient digital infrastructure, is critical to expanding economic opportunity. This is a significant moment in Kenya’s digital transformation journey and the benefits of today’s announcement will be felt across the region,” said Meg Whitman, US Ambassador to Kenya.

The investment will also help the continent harness the internet economy, expected to reach $180 billion in two years, accounting for 5.2 per cent of the continent’s gross domestic product.

“Africa’s major cities including Nairobi, Kampala, Kigali, Lubumbashi, Lusaka, and Harare will no longer be hard-to-reach endpoints remote from the coastal landing sites that connect Africa to the world. They are now stations on a data superhighway that can carry thousands of times more traffic than currently reaches here. I am proud that this project helps us deliver a digitally connected future that leaves no African behind, regardless of how far they are from the technology centres of the world,” said Strive Masiyiwa, Chairman and Founder of Liquid.

Last week, the country and other parts of the continent were hit by internet disruption after submarine cables serving Kenya, largely controlled by Seacom and East Africa Submarine System (Eassy), were affected, according to the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA).

“We wish to inform individual and corporate consumers that the recovery process has since commenced but intermittency and slow speeds may remain in the coming days before services are fully restored,” CA director-general David Mugonyi said in a statement.

The regulator said the disruption did not affect The East Africa Marine System (TEAMs) cable – majority owned by the Kenyan government – which had been tapped for domestic traffic.

Further capacity is available on the redundant South Africa route, the CA added, which has been activated to minimise the impact of the disruption on the Seacom and Eassy submarine cables.

According to the authority, a deep-sea fibre cut had occurred at the Mtunzini teleport station, affecting several submarine cables serving Kenya, including Seacom and the East African Submarine System (Eassy).

Africa leads the world in mobile web traffic, with many of the continent’s businesses relying on the Internet to deliver services to their customers.