Bandwidth Price (1)

This first "Bandwith Price" thread will cover only the case in African market. It it based on the talk given by Michael Ruddy / Terabit.

The current, second "boom" in submarine cable market is not only happened in Asia and Transpacific segments, but also in Africa. One of the most prominent drivers for investment in fiber infrastructure is the currently-quite-high "bandwidth price" in the regions. According to Michael:

• Satellite connections cost approx. USD 5,000 / Mbps
  
• Fiber connections (using existing SAT-3 cable) cost varied: USD 12,000 / Mbps from Telkom South Africa, USD 6,000 / Mbps from Mauritius Telecom or EUR 1,550 / Mbps from France Telecom at Reunion Islands
  

There are currently two cable systems under supply contracts: East African Marine System (TEAMS - what is "T"??) and EASSy (East African Submarine-cable System). One of notable goals of these systems is to achieve "USD 500 / Mbps" :

• "Kenyan gov’t. says $500/Mbps. is achievable on TEAMS, and any operator who charges more than $700 all-inclusive will just be serving the cause of greed. - Bitange Ndemo, Kenyan information permanent secretary"
• "UUNet disagrees: $500 does not include interconnection to the Internet - Geoffrey Shimanyula, UUNet Kenya managing director, Nov. 2007"