East Africa Fibre Optic Cable: Connectivity, issues & progress

[Superman]

duh! hiyo kali mkuu,live kupitia Tanesco? au TTCL mkuu? hiyo kali sijapata kuisikia kabisa.Ahsante kwa breaking news yako.

Mkuu Josm;

Kwa taarifa tu ni kuwa - TANESCO katika High Tesion Lines zao za Grid ya Taifa wale Optic Fiber juu yake. TTCL hawana fiber as in TANESCO.

Hawa jamaa wa SEACOM the minimum you can buy from them is 155 Mbps. So, it is expensive. Only Major ISP or Telecom companies can buy.

Normal price ya 1 Mbps/1 Mbps inategemea kuwa kati ya $ 1000 - 1500

Before that same capacity ilikuwa ni zaidi ya $ 5000

 

[MzalendoHalisi]

Hivi serikali imewekaeza pesa ngapi ktk hii budgeti? Rwanda na kenya ktk hii budget..kuna pesa ya kutosha ya hii kitu!

 

[JosM]

Mkuu Josm;

Kwa taarifa tu ni kuwa - TANESCO katika High Tesion Lines zao za Grid ya Taifa wale Optic Fiber juu yake. TTCL hawana fiber as in TANESCO.

Hawa jamaa wa SEACOM the minimum you can buy from them is 155 Mbps. So, it is expensive. Only Major ISP or Telecom companies can buy.

Normal price ya 1 Mbps/1 Mbps inategemea kuwa kati ya $ 1000 - 1500

Before that same capacity ilikuwa ni zaidi ya $ 5000

Ubarikiwe mkuu kwa kunielimisha.

 

[Baridijr]

ila bongo huwa hatuna utaratibu wa kupunguza bei

 

[BrainPower]

1. The cable that is being launched is actually the East Africa Marine System (TEAMs). By the way, it will take another month untill its services are offered to business + organisations.

see: Business Daily- Traders braced for fibre cable impact

2. Tanesco has 2600 kilometers of fibre optic cable running across its Pylons. I have had wind some of it is already allocated to various institutions. But that is just what i heard (may or may not be true).

3. See the proposed national fibre backbone

4. What i worry is that we will have the repetition of what we saw with the cell phone towers (Every one is building a cellphone tower instead of sharing). I vouch for a universal open access policy to the fibre.

5. Yes, Seacom has quoted prices in wholesale as quoted minimum is 155 Mbps. Kuna mtu anajua prices za retail ? I am interested with the source (i.e. ni ISP, udsm au telecom)

 

[Superman]

Hivi serikali imewekaeza pesa ngapi ktk hii budgeti? Rwanda na kenya ktk hii budget..kuna pesa ya kutosha ya hii kitu!

Mkuu katika Submarine Fiber ya SEACOM au TEAMS Serikali haijawekeza. Ila itawekeza katika Interior Fiber kwa Mkopo wa serikali ya China. Na wachina ndiyo wataijenga. Budget yake ni zaid ya Dola $ 600 Millions.

Nasikia wameshaanza kuitengeneza pamoja na accessories nyingine na inawezekana kazi ikaanza this year. Serikali imetenga budget katika Financial year inayoanza.

 

[Steve Dii]

Katika vitu ambavyo Tanzania ilishawahi kufanya vilivyo most outstanding ni installation ya fibre network iliyofanywa na Tanesco "kabla" hata nchi nyingine hazijajua what is fibre optic!

Uttermost outstanding and commendable to say the least. They (we) were way far ahead of time. Kuna mtu mmoja yuko karibu kwenye haya mambo aliyekuwa anafanya kazi TTCL alinieleza mwaka jana, hakika sikuamini. One of the best moves in communication and networking. I just hope that the type of fibre installed at that dark age of fibre optics will stand the test of time. Nevertheless, the capacity for any type should be adequate enough for foreseeable long term before any major overhaul or replacement. As what matters most with fibre is the capacity in decoding technology of the spectrum of light.

Brainpower, Allien, Superman and others thanks for your input in getting us informed on this development. There are few other old threads talking about this, I'll try to liven them up a bit. Cheers!

SteveD.

 

[Superman]

1. The cable that is being launched is actually the East Africa Marine System (TEAMs). By the way, it will take another month untill its services are offered to business + organisations.

see: Business Daily- Traders braced for fibre cable impact

2. Tanesco has 2600 kilometers of fibre optic cable running across its Pylons. I have had wind some of it is already allocated to various institutions. But that is just what i heard (may or may not be true).

4. What i worry is that we will have the repetition of what we saw with the cell phone towers (Every one is building a cellphone tower instead of sharing). I vouch for a universal open access policy to the fibre.

5. Yes, Seacom has quoted prices in wholesale as quoted minimum is 155 Mbps. Kuna mtu anajua prices za retail ? I am interested with the source (i.e. ni ISP, udsm au telecom)

TANESCO INTERIOR FIBER

TANESCO NETWORK

Mkuu;

Sasa hivi nimesikia Serikali imepiga mkwala mkali kwamba haitoi kibali cha kujenga interior fiber. Fiber Interior itakuwa managed na TTCL.

UCC watamanage interior terminal pale UDSM lakini hawataruhusiwa kuiuza. UDSM watapewa bure Internet Capacity.

Bei. SEACOM watauza about 700-750 per 1 Mbps full duplex. Lakini lazima ununue minimum ya 155 Mbps.

ISP zitauza kati ya $ 1000 - 1500 for 1 Mbps full duplex.

 

[BrainPower]

Superman Asante,

Yaani hapo umenimaliza nguvu. Ishh ! Fibre- interior to be managed by TTCL alone ?. Jamani ! why are they trying to create an unwanted monopoly.

The fact that TTCL also sells its internet to the normal public, means that TTCL is a competitor and thus a threat to other ISPs. Kama wewe ni isp , huwezi kuruhusu mtu akuuzie wewe (isp) bandwidth kwa bei ya jumla alafu mtu huyo huyo akimbilie wateja wako awauizie bandwidth kwa bei ile ile aliye kuuzia wewe . That is called unfair competition. Ndio maana Zain wamelalamikia serikali wiki iliyopita, now i understand !!

Other companies that already have fibre optics include :
-Songas - has approximately 200kms of fibre
-TRC (then) has approximately over 800kms of fibre
-Tazara

Please see the current layout. This is the plan to link educational institutions with the current infrastructure that we have.

In my view, we should :

a) Join all the infrastructure we (currently) have to the backbone and speed things up.
b) Formulate an open access platform that will allow All carriers be it isp, telecoms, education universities, private business have equal access to use the fibre

 

[Wanzuki]

Naisubiri kwa hamu ili niweke broadband home. Nina wasiwasi mmoja: Je, sites za huko interior sana zinazotumia VSAT kwa sasa zitafaidikaje?!

 

[Superman]

Katika vitu ambavyo Tanzania ilishawahi kufanya vilivyo most outstanding ni installation ya fibre network iliyofanywa na Tanesco "kabla" hata nchi nyingine hazijajua what is fibre optic!

Uttermost outstanding and commendable to say the least. They (we) were way far ahead of time. Kuna mtu mmoja yuko karibu kwenye haya mambo aliyekuwa anafanya kazi TTCL alinieleza mwaka jana, hakika sikuamini. One of the best moves in communication and networking. I just hope that the type of fibre installed at that dark age of fibre optics will stand the test of time. Nevertheless, the capacity for any type should be adequate enough for foreseeable long term before any major overhaul or replacement. As what matters most with fibre is the capacity in decoding technology of the spectrum of light.

Brainpower, Allien, Superman and others thanks for your input in getting us informed on this development. There are few other old threads talking about this, I'll try to liven them up a bit. Cheers!

SteveD.

Mkuu;

Shida kubwa tuliyonayo katika Nchi hii, Siasa zimekuwa nyingi sana. You cant Imagine kwamba kwa Zaidi ya miaka 10 tumekuwa na Fiber lakini kuitumia inashindikana kwa sababu ya siasa na kukosa central coordination. Kwa hiyo TTCL; TRL; SONGA; TAZARA; TANESCO zimebaki kwenye makabrasha tu, labda kama sasa watakuwa more serious. Hata policy yetu ya ICT pia imepitwa na wakati.

Inashangaza wakati mwingine, unakuta wizara ina Idara kama 4-5 lakini kila Idara ian Link yake ya Internet/Data wakati ambapo a single link ingetosheleza na wakafanya separation katika router level tu.

Sasa hivi Dr. Yona wa pale Ministry of Communication (Alikuwa TTCL) ndiye amepewa jukumu la kufanya coordination ya mambo yote ya Fiber. Let us wait and see what can be achieved.

TANESCO mara moja au mbili wamejaribu kuitumia fiber hiyo kibiashara lakini kumekuwa na siasa nyingi sana. So at the moment wanaitumia tu kwa internal communication.

Kuhusu capacity, ipo ya kutosha kwa matumizi yetu.

 

[Superman]

Superman Asante,

Yaani hapo umenimaliza nguvu. Ishh ! Fibre- interior to be managed by TTCL alone ?. Jamani ! why are they trying to create an unwanted monopoly.

The fact that TTCL also sells its internet to the normal public, means that TTCL is a competitor and thus a threat to other ISPs. Kama wewe ni isp , huwezi kuruhusu mtu akuuzie wewe (isp) bandwidth kwa bei ya jumla alafu mtu huyo huyo akimbilie wateja wako awauizie bandwidth kwa bei ile ile aliye kuuzia wewe . That is called unfair competition. Ndio maana Zain wamelalamikia serikali wiki iliyopita, now i understand !!

Other companies that already have fibre optics include :
-Songas - has approximately 200kms of fibre
-TRC (then) has approximately over 800kms of fibre
-Tazara

Please see the current layout. This is the plan to link educational institutions with the current infrastructure that we have.

In my view, we should :

a) Join all the infrastructure we (currently) have to the backbone and speed things up.
b) Formulate an open access platform that will allow All carriers be it isp, telecoms, education universities, private business have equal access to use the fibre

Mkuu;

Asante sana kwa info hizi.

Hebu pata directives za JK kwanza:

CASE TO LOWER TELECOM COSTS

​

By DAILY NEWS Reporter

PRESIDENT Jakaya Kikwete has directed the formation of a task force to speed up construction of the national Information Communication Technology (ICT) backbone.

The facility is expected to boost and cut costs of ICT application, including mobile phone tariffs and accelerate the country social and economic development.

The State House said in a statement that the ICT backbone construction is estimated to cost 180 million US dollars (239.4bnI-). The Chinese government would finance the project.

The president issued the directive during a meeting with senior officials of the Ministry of Communications, Science and Technology held at the State House in Dar es Salaam yesterday.

The meeting also decided that the Tanzania Telecommunications Company Limited (ITCL) would be in-chargé of the proposed ICT backbone.

Let this ICT backbone not only reduce tariffs for mobile phones…..this is a good thing but it has broader use for the benefit of our economy and the development of the country, he said.

The government pledged to speed up formulation of laws for supervision and regulation of usage of mobile phones and internet to curb rising cases of cyber crime.

Mr Kikwete noted that some people use mobile phones to insult others.
The number of Tanzanians with mobile phones currently stands at 10 million, basing on the number of SIM cards so far sold. There were only 150,000 subscribers in 2001.

The mobile phone industry has earned the government 660bn/- in revenue during the past nine years.

Meanwhile, the government has vowed to strengthen the TTCL through various measures, including giving guarantees for loans from local financial institutions.

The move is aimed at making the country’s cash-strapped telecommunication giant cope up with the ever increasing stiff competition in the industry.
The government owns 65 per cent stake in TTCL, which was partially privatized some eight years ago.

It was also agreed that the government would take over TTCL’s debts to enable it secure loans and be able to face the challenges o the highly technologically competitive industry.
The president met the officials as part of the ongoing meetings between the president and top officials from ministries and institutions to assess their performance in the past three years.


SEACOM

By PIUS RUGONZIBWA

CONSTRUCTION of the 15,000-kilometre Seacom fibre-optic cable has now taken off in Dares Salaam in a project that is expected to substantially reduce consumer telecommunication charges by 95 per cent.

When fully operational by next June, Seacom will provide the high capacity international fibre optic bandwidth along the country’s East Coast connecting the country to South Africa, Mozambique, Madagascar, Kenya, Djibouti, India as well as Europe. Sea- corn Tanzania Managing Director Ms Anna KahamaRupia told reporters yesterday at the construction site that the system would be cheaper than the satellite’ system currently used in East Africa.

She added that the cost for satellite system is now $3,000 per megabyte per second (mbps) while under optic fibre the costs would come down to just $100.

“This is a project of its kind in East Africa... it will connect the region and particularly Tanzania to the rest of the world conveniently and reliably. The system won’t allow communication breakdowns or interference as is the case today,” Ms Rupia said.

Seacom signed a 20-year land lease contract with the University of Dar es Salaam under which the firm will utilize its Kunduchi Plot Number 49, and the Tanzania Communication Regulatory Authority (TRCA) duly authorised the project in September last year.

She said four Tanzanians would receive special training in the areas of cable station management, cable station engineering and cable station technology to effectively manage the station after its construction. Right now, there are no Tanzanians with expertise in the system.

Seacom Head of Construction Mr Chriss Albert told the ‘Daily News’ that the cables will be installed 900 metres under the sea — at a total cost of about $600m (about 760bn1-).

He identified other partners in the project as the Industrial Promotion Services of Kenya (26.25 per cent), Veulin Group of South Africa (25 per cent), Convergence Partners (12.5 percent), Shanduka Group of South Africa (12.5 per cent) and International Herakies Telecom (23.75 per cent).

So, TTCL ndiyo watakaomanage Interior Fiber ya Serikali including TANESCO; TRL; TAZARA nk.

Ni matumaini yetu kuwa TTCL wataunda kamouni nyingine ya kumanage fiber, au watajitoa katika biashara ya ISP na TELCOM vinginevyo kutakuwa hakuna haki ya kibiashara - Level Playing Field.

Mkuu, nadhani before end of next year tutakuwa na Fiber kama 3 au nne za Submarine: SEACOM; TEAMS; UHURU NET na ESSAY.

 

[Superman]

Naisubiri kwa hamu ili niweke broadband home. Nina wasiwasi mmoja: Je, sites za huko interior sana zinazotumia VSAT kwa sasa zitafaidikaje?!

Mkuu; initially DSM ndiyo watafaidi from day one. Wengi wanaopata Internet kupitia VSAT hata Broadband Wireless ambazo as a matter of fact zote zina backbone ya VSAT watakuwa hawana haja tena ya kupitia VSAT. Broadband Wireless zinaweza kubaki lakini backbone itakuwa ya Submarine Fiber.

Kwa mikoani, hakuna shortcut mpaka hapo interior fiber itakapokuwa tayari. Hata hivyo kama TANESCO Fiber itatolewa kwa matumizi ya kibiashara, then na wao watapata.

 

[Superman]

Hebu tupate picha kamili ya OVERVIEW ya SEACOM SUBMARINE FIBER:

Please see the attachment:

 

[Ramthods]

bongo itatua tarehe 5 july

.

Fiber optic ilishafika bongo mwishoni mwa mwezi jana. UDSM wamepewa bandwidth ya 155Mbps for free kama Educational institution. SEACOM wanafikiria kufanya hivyo kwa UDOM (University of Dodoma).

Sio kweli kwamba UDSM ndio watakuwa wanacontrol operation ya hii fiber cable. UDSM watakuwa wanacontrol bandwidth yao waliyopewa. Makampuni ya mawasiliano ikiwa ni pamoja na ISP's wapo pia katika mchakato wa kutumia hiyo bandwidth.

UDSM wataanza rasmi kutumia hiyo bandwidth waliyopewa tarehe 26th June 2009. Kwa makampuni mengine (ISP's) nadhani itachukua muda kidogo kwa sababu ya mambo ya miundombinu na fedha zikae sawa. So hata hiyo july inaweza kuwa mapema sana kwa ISP's wote kuwa connected.

Kuna campuni (SelcomWireless) wana mpango wa kufunga Wireless Hotspots kwenye hizi tower za Telcom providers (I think Zain). So kama laptop yako ina Wiless Card utakuwa unaweza kupata internet mahali popote pale ulipo.

Kulipia, these guys watakua wanauza scratch cards (Kama voucher za simu vile) so una top-up na kupata net.

Hii service ipo kwenye trial maeneo ya town. Kwa sasa kwa mwezi ni sh 35,000 + VAT.

 

[Superman]

.

Fiber optic ilishafika bongo mwishoni mwa mwezi jana. UDSM wamepewa bandwidth ya 155Mbps for free kama Educational institution. SEACOM wanafikiria kufanya hivyo kwa UDOM (University of Dodoma).

Sio kweli kwamba UDSM ndio watakuwa wanacontrol operation ya hii fiber cable. UDSM watakuwa wanacontrol bandwidth yao waliyopewa. Makampuni ya mawasiliano ikiwa ni pamoja na ISP's wapo pia katika mchakato wa kutumia hiyo bandwidth.

UDSM wataanza rasmi kutumia hiyo bandwidth waliyopewa tarehe 26th June 2009. Kwa makampuni mengine (ISP's) nadhani itachukua muda kidogo kwa sababu ya mambo ya miundombinu na fedha zikae sawa. So hata hiyo july inaweza kuwa mapema sana kwa ISP's wote kuwa connected.

Kuna campuni (SelcomWireless) wana mpango wa kufunga Wireless Hotspots kwenye hizi tower za Telcom providers (I think Zain). So kama laptop yako ina Wiless Card utakuwa unaweza kupata internet mahali popote pale ulipo.

Kulipia, these guys watakua wanauza scratch cards (Kama voucher za simu vile) so una top-up na kupata net.

Hii service ipo kwenye trial maeneo ya town. Kwa sasa kwa mwezi ni sh 35,000 + VAT.

Mkuu una Uhakika na DATAZ zako? Nafahamu kuwa Seacom wanauza in pair hiyo 155 Mbps ambayo ndo minimum. My question ni kama hiyo 155 Mbps UDSM kama kweli wamepewa wataifanyia nini.

The biggest ISP hapa Tanzania ukichanganya capacity yao yote waliyouza haifiki hata 100 Mbps . . . . .

Kuhusu Selcom, Mkuu subiri utaona mengi sana. Just for your information TEAMS Submarine Fiber pia iko njiani. By September/October 2009 itakuwa imeingia Bongo toka Mombasa.

UDOM ili wapate Fiber inabidi kuwe na Interior Fiber. labda kama watatumia ya TANESCO.

 

[Ramthods]

Mkuu una Uhakika na DATAZ zako? Nafahamu kuwa Seacom wanauza in pair hiyo 155 Mbps ambayo ndo minimum. My question ni kama hiyo 155 Mbps UDSM kama kweli wamepewa wataifanyia nini.

Yah mkuu. Juzi tu nilikuwa nazungumza na mtu mmoja wa chuo ndio akanipa hiyo tarehe rasmi. Kuhusu hiyo bandwidth ya 155mbps, hilo nauhakika nalo 100% maana SEACOM wenyewe walisema. Ngoja nicheki tena webpage ambayo nilisoma then ntaiweka hapa. Pia jamaa huyo wa chuo ali confirm kuhusu hiyo bandwidth.

 

[Ramthods]

....Aidha Mhadhiri na Mkuu wa Idara ya Teknologia ya Uhandisi na Uongozi wa Chuo Kikuu cha Dar es Salaam Dk. Leonard Chamuriho alisema kuwa chuo hicho kimepewa bure (STM 11) sawa na Mega Bites 155 (155MB) kwa ajili ya kufundishia wanafunzi. Kampuni hiyo inafikiria kutoa huduma kama hiyo kwa Chuo Kikuu cha Dodoma kwa siku za baadaye. Gharama ya Mrad...

Click to read full article

 

[BrainPower]

Nami najiuliza same question.
Which Isp has the capacity of buying 150Mbps at the moment. Just to give you a picture Arusha's biggest ISP is running on a mere 4mbps, and they have a fair bit of customers.
For a national wide private ISP , we have approximately 200,000 customers in one state and we just commissioned a 10gbps backbone for that state (untill that time we only had 1Gbps backbone) .

Na bado links between that state POP and another state POP are just 1.5Gbps X 2 (for backup link) . That link is serving approximately 700,000 customers.

Sasa (Tanzania) according to the CIA world factbook we have 400,000 internet users (Total). I know the figure has risen a bit but i would like to pose a question.

Which single isp do you think can buy STM11 (155Mbps) for themselves in Tanzania ?
-I know Simbanet is the leader at the moment but do you think they will max out 155Mbps ?
-Nadhani what will happen is Simbanet / Voda / Dovetell (ofcourse do not exclude TTCL) buys wholesale and sells it retail. The cost is @$700/Mbps X 155Mbps = $108,000/Month is not something to shoulder if you do not have guaranteed customers.

b.

Kuhusu Selcom, Mkuu subiri utaona mengi sana.

Are they trying to use Wifi to blanket Dar-es-salaam ?? mhh mhh..
Superman are you thinking what i am thinking ?? lol

 

[Superman]

Nami najiuliza same question.
Which Isp has the capacity of buying 150Mbps at the moment. Just to give you a picture Arusha's biggest ISP is running on a mere 4mbps, and they have a fair bit of customers.
For a national wide private ISP , we have approximately 200,000 customers in one state and we just commissioned a 10gbps backbone for that state (untill that time we only had 1Gbps backbone) .

Na bado links between that state POP and another state POP are just 1.5Gbps X 2 (for backup link) . That link is serving approximately 700,000 customers.

Sasa (Tanzania) according to the CIA world factbook we have 400,000 internet users (Total). I know the figure has risen a bit but i would like to pose a question.

Which single isp do you think can buy STM11 (155Mbps) for themselves in Tanzania ?
-I know Simbanet is the leader at the moment but do you think they will max out 155Mbps ?
-Nadhani what will happen is Simbanet / Voda / Dovetell (ofcourse do not exclude TTCL) buys wholesale and sells it retail. The cost is @$700/Mbps X 155Mbps = $108,000/Month is not something to shoulder if you do not have guaranteed customers.

b.

Are they trying to use Wifi to blanket Dar-es-salaam ?? mhh mhh..
Superman are you thinking what i am thinking ?? lol

Mkuu; UDSM kupitia UCC wanafanya biashara. Hata hivyo UDSM kwa kuwa wamepewa bure hawawezi kuuza hiyo 155 Mbps otherwise it wont be fair.

I will tend to assume kama watakuwa wamepewa hiyo 1 pair ya 155 Mbps basi watatakiwa washare na Vyuo Vikuu vingine. SEACOM kama alivyosema mdau mmoja hapo juu wanaplan kutoa bure kwa Vyuo.

Landing paort ya SEACOM FIBER iko Silversands Hotel ambayo inamilikiwa na UDSM, so no wonder kwa nini wanapewa bure.

Pia ISP zilizopo mjini hawata-hook Silversands bali UDSM (assuming UCC). So bado SEACOM wataitumia UDSM kwa ajili ya ku-distribute local capacities to ISP but Minimum must be 155 Mbps.

SimbaNET na misuli yake yote it is more likely wana total capacity ya between 70 Mbps - 100 Mbps. So, ili waweze kumudu 155 Mbps itabidi labda wauze kwa makampuni mengine makubwa ya Telcom au ISP.

Haya Matelcom companies hata kama yatakuwa na uwezo wa kununua 155 Mbps, lakini what for? Hata kama watauza kwa mobile internet users na some corporates bado haitofika 155 Mbps. Na bado hawawezi ku-offer corporate services katika infrastructure zao unless kama watainvest zaidi katika infrastructures.

Mkuu; utaona mambo mengi sana Fiber ikiingia. Kuna ISP zitaibuka kama uyoga na kuna nyingine zitakufa kwa kukosa misuli. Only time will tell. Sasa hivi mengi yatazungumzwa.