Seacom launched the first undersea internet cable in South Africa back in 2009, back when 5Mbps was the internet equivalent to breaking the sound barrier. Since then, it has upgraded its offerings substantially, as have most internet providers. As of today, the company has upgraded its equipment to provide 100 gigabit ethernet speeds, providing swifter internet for its clients.
Seacom speeds up
Currently, Seacom’s 100Gbps offering are only available to clients and prospective clients in South Africa, but should reach other African markets in the next few months.
Upgraded speed is a boon for service providers in a time when solid internet speeds are more important than ever, and whose importance will continue to grow for the foreseeable future. With Seacom’s new gear, they can remain relevant and continue to provide up-to-snuff service to their own clients.
“The increased capacity of 100Gbit/s equipment reduces the cost and complexity associated with procuring and maintaining multiple 10Gbit/s ports and also simplifies load balancing through the flexibility of having 10 times more bandwidth per port,” reads a statement to Tech Central.
“Network providers will be able to add more customers, expand their networks, or reconfigure traffic flows without disrupting network traffic or incurring multiple cross-connecting fees.”
Which bodes well for both network providers and end-users alike.
Seacom may have been the first undersea internet cable provider to get its feet wet in African waters, but it’s certainly not the only one. Facebook’s looking to install the ever deployed, which will wrap itself around the African continent, and Google recently pledged $1 billion towards digital transformation in Africa, part of which going towards a new submarine internet cable between the continent and Europe.