JEAN-SEBASTIEN EVRARD/AFP/Getty Images
With all the focus on the buildout of wireless technologies around the world, it is easy to forget that many regions are still working on an obvious precursor — wired internet. On a larger scale, it’s also easy to forget that undersea cables are the primary avenues for all web connections, necessary for even the infrastructure to establish wireless technology and other communications tech. And some countries/regions have struggled more than others with implementing cable-based connections. Africa, for one, has a historical problem with cable theft, and is therefore somewhat limited when it comes to making legacy connections. (On one hand, this issue leaves the continent open to newer technologies that bypass such legacy infrastructure, but on the other, it has been slow to adopt web connections in certain areas.)
France-based networking giant Alcatel-Lucent has brought this issue to light in its announcement last week that it will be working with Algeria and Spain to establish an Orval undersea cable system to run more than 560 km of fiber-optics from Oran, Algeria to Valencia, Spain.
The company signed an agreement with the Algerian Ministry of Post, Information technology and Communication (MPITC), and reports that completion is expected in 2016. When finished, the 100 gigabit-per-second system will establish a connection capacity of 20 terabit-per-seconds. Alcatel’s President Philippe Dumont said:
The Orval undersea cable system will help meet the broadband demand and strengthen overall connectivity in the Mediterranean. As we enter in an upward cycle of submarine cables constructions, this new project highlights the continued need for higher capacity and connectivity that is critical for broadband expansion.
The Algerian agency commented that it is looking to this undersea infrastructure to support its broadband connections through natural disasters such as the earthquake it experienced in 2003.
At the same time, global controversy over undersea cable establishment rages on — a common occurrence thanks to the nature of implementing cross-continental cables, i.e., the need for political entities in various countries to try to work together. Undersea cables line the world’s ocean floors, but last week, the one linking Vietnam and the U.S. broke for a second time this year, disconnecting tons of users from the web. The Ministry of Information and Communications said that the sea cable Asia America Gateway (AAG) is now overloaded and the country is looking to build a second cable to China to ease the burden of connectivity on the AAG.
As the number of web users grows — particularly in countries looking to build out their tech scenes like Algeria and Vietnam — more reliable connections will be crucial. Partnerships like the one with Alcatel could become more frequent as governments look to the private sector to develop their connections to the web.
