U/W Internet Cable Between Brazil and Africa

The system will connect Luanda in Angola, with Fortaleza in Ceará in northern Brazil and the u/w cable with have a capacity to transmit 40 terabits per second, or 40 trillion bits per second, which will greatly speed up trans-Atlantic media, O&G and general business connections. Eventually an extension of the cable will also reach Santos, on the coast of São Paulo and Miami. The initial project will have an investment of US$160 million, with another US$100 million destined to extra connections. This is the essence of the South Atlantic Cable System (SACS), which cable operator Angola Cables plans to install by 2015 or the beginning of 2016 in the region.

According to company president Antonio Nunes, this will be the first u/w cable in the southern hemisphere linking Brazil to Africa. The cabe laying process is to begin very soon. The objective is to accelerate connections between Brazil, Africa and Asia, without needing to go through European cable systems,” said Nunes to Brazil’s largest newspaper and media outlet Globo. At the same time that the original SACS is being built, it’s extensions to Santos and Miami will also start being laid in order to have the whole system up and running at about the same time. Once the system in operational, international internet routs from Brazil will become more diversified and will permit more agility in doing international business.

The Brazilian and Angolan governments are also supporting the project and believe that the SACS will bring great advantages to both countries. With video being an integral part of many internet exchanges, SACS will allow a greater volume and higher speeds for multimedia transfer through the ether. At the same time, super-major operator Petrobras will be able to remotely control their E&P assets working plays and prospects in Angola and other West African locations.