Six operators evolving in the telecommunication sector in the Indian Ocean signed last Wednesday, December 13, an agreement concerning the construction of very high speed cables, METISS.
The Internet is getting a new lease of life in the Indian Ocean with the signing of the agreement for the construction of the METISS very high speed cable. This agreement was signed on Wednesday 13 December at the Labourdonnais Hotel in Port-Louis between six telecommunication operators from Madagascar, Reunion and Mauritius. The event took place in the presence of many political figures from the Member States of the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC) and representatives of the private sector.
Telma, CEB Fibernet, Emtel, Canal + Telecom, SFR and ZEOP are responsible for this construction project. This digital infrastructure project, METISS (MElting poT IndianoceanicSubmarine System), aims to democratize high-speed Internet in the region. The management and construction of these high-speed cables by the six operators will enable the region’s Internet providers to meet the need for connectivity, which will be all the more pressing as the current cables approach the end of their life cycle.
Better connectivity will be provided to subscribers on the three islands through the METISS connection to high bandwidth international. The goal of METISS connectivity is to provide secure, faster and cheaper Internet access.
“This very high speed cable will change the regional digital landscape and will allow the democratization of access to very high speed for the benefit of the populations and economic actors,” said the Secretary General of the IOC, Madi Hamada.
The democratization of the Internet is putting a stop to the excessive competition that exists in this sector between Internet providers. This is a real step forward for the region in the field of digital technology, as we should hardly forget that digital technology is omnipresent in global societies.
Recognizing the value of digital technology in today’s world, the IOC supports this major project for IOC Member States. It must be said that the IOC is at the origin of the regional reflection on connectivity, knowing all the stakes involved. Reflection on the subject was therefore initiated with the public authorities of its Member States, regulators, private operators and international partners. As a result, the six operators decided to work together to set up METISS.
METISS is a project to build a 3,000 km digital cable with a speed of 24,000 Gigabits/second and which will require an investment of 40 million euros. A project, which once started, will connect by 2019 to the fiber optic Mauritius, Reunion and Madagascar to South Africa, the anchor of international high bandwidth and African headquarters of the largest companies in the ICT sector.
