Google has announced the launch of Umoja, a new fibre optic cable connecting Africa with Australia.
- The cable is anchored in Kenya and passes through Uganda, Rwanda, DRC, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa, before crossing the Indian Ocean to Australia. Along its route, there are access points that will allow other countries to take advantage of the network.
- This is a major boost for connectivity considering that this year alone, the continent has suffered four major waves of internet outages caused by undersea cable failures.
- The recent disruption that happened on 12th May hit East African countries and caused serious downtime across all major internet providers in the country.
In the Umoja launch statement, Brian Quigley, VP, Global Network Infrastructure, Google Cloud, stated that, “Umoja will enable African countries to more reliably connect with each other and the rest of the world. Establishing a new route distinct from existing connectivity routes is critical to maintaining a resilient network for a region that has historically experienced high-impact outages.”
Acknowledging the launch of Umoja, President Ruto stated that, “The new intercontinental fibre optic route will significantly enhance our global and regional digital infrastructure.”
Umoja, built in collaboration with Liquid Technology, joins Equiano, Google’s first fibre optic cable that connects Africa to another continent. Equiano, a subsea cable, was launched in 2019 and connects South Africa with Portugal through the Atlantic Ocean. These initiatives reflect Google’s 2021 commitment to invest $1 billion towards Africa’s digital transformation over a five year period.
In addition to the launch of Umoja, Google announced that it will sign a statement of collaboration with the Ministry of Information Communications and The Digital Economy to accelerate joint efforts in Cybersecurity, innovation, and digital upskilling.
Google Cloud also intends to work together with the Department of Immigration & Citizen Services to strengthen the defence of the eCitizen platform using CyberShield solutions.
Google’s collaboration announcement comes only one day after Microsoft, in partnership with G42, an United Arab Emirates’ AI firm, announced a $1 billion comprehensive digital ecosystem initiative for Kenya. As part of the agreement, G42, in collaboration with local partners, will design and build a state-of-the-art data centre campus in Olkaria, run entirely on renewable geothermal energy and designed with state-of-the-art water conservation technology.
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