Altech and subsea cable operator SEACOM today announced a strategic alliance

BUSINESSDAY: "Africa currently only has 1% broadband penetration compared to the US which has 60% penetration. Marrying KDN's terrestrial fibre network with an abundance of bandwidth capacity complements our aims of unshackling a 5-country East African network. Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and soon the DRC and Tanzania are to become competitive on a truly global scale and Altech will be instrumental in making this a reality," Altech's Venter said.

"Bandwidth becomes significantly cheaper in bigger volumes, enabling Altech to pass on more competitive prices to its customers than other providers. Significant bandwidth customers have already been secured by Altech in the East African region," Venter added.

The two groups said an insatiable demand was expected for the lower-cost bandwidth provided by SEACOM and Altech, enabling peer-to-peer networks and Internet connectivity at markedly reduced prices and significantly increased capacities.

"Rather than selling capacity directly to end-users, we will provide our wholesale bandwidth to African retail carriers such as Altech, who buy a portion of bandwidth and onward-sell this capacity to end-users.

SHOOT: Will this help or hinder increasing penetration levels of bradband over the current 1% in Africa? Why not sell bandwidth directly to end-users? The more middlemen the more expensive it becomes...surely?

clipped from www.businessday.co.za JSE-listed Altech and subsea cable operator SEACOM today announced a strategic alliance for the mutual acquisition of bandwidth capacity on 2 cable systems. The agreement sees Altech procuring 2 STM-16s from SEACOM (5Gbps), with the option to upgrade, within 3 years, to double this capacity, to an STM-64. SEACOM would in turn purchase 6 STM-64s throughout the East Africa region on the terrestrial backbone network owned by Kenya Data Networks, a subsidiary of Altech. "This strategic alliance with SEACOM, and Altech's investment in the construction of terrestrial networks needed to support SEACOM in bringing its capacity inland, allows us to play a leading role in radically changing the face of African connectivity. "These end-users will in turn be able to access the internet at international broadband speeds and at more affordable prices, creating a wealth of opportunities for important sectors, such as education, healthcare and government services," said Herlihy.