Orange extends ACE to Cape Town and boosts capacity
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Orange extends ACE to Cape Town and boosts capacity

Orange and its partners have started work on extending the ACE subsea cable as far as Cape Town in South Africa, as well as more than doubling its capacity.

The work means the cable will be lengthened by 5,000 kilometres from São Tomé & Príncipe, the current most southerly point. The cable starts in France and connects 18 countries, including Ghana and Nigeria.

ACE, which first carried traffic in 2012, is operated by a consortium of 19 operators and administrations that is managed by Orange. The consortium has invested around $700 million in the construction of the cable, which includes $250 million from Orange and its subsidiaries.

The extension will cover the Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola and Namibia on its way to South Africa. The complete length, once completed, will be 17,000 kilometres.

At the same time the capacity of the whole cable, originally 5.12 terabits a second, will be increased to 12.8 terabits.

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