1 June 2023
Between Sunday 21 May and Friday 26 May, technicians from Telecom Egypt’s sub-contractual deployment team undertook final commissioning works for the installation and integration of the Equiano fibre-optic cable Submarine Line Terminal Equipment (SLTE). The SLTE connects the cable landing station to the wider Equiano network, allowing the transfer of data through the cable between St Helena and the rest of the world.
Following completion of the commissioning works last week, the SLTE has been rigorously tested and has now been confirmed to be working as intended, meaning it is now live.
The local commissioning of the SLTE was identified as a key goal for this Government in its SHG Strategy and Vision 2023-2025, and is the culmination of 3½ years’ work between SHG and local and international partners to deliver the Cable Landing Station project.
This is another key step addressing the significant connectivity challenges the Island currently faces. Work is now underway for the design, build and transfer of a local on-Island fibre optic network by SHG’s delivery partners Maestro. This will deliver super-fast broadband directly to homes and businesses, over a brand-new publicly owned network.
Once complete, the provision of faster, more reliable and stable internet connectivity will provide additional opportunities for private sector development, cloud-based technologies, distance learning, and telemedicine, amongst others.
On the commissioning works, Minister for Treasury, Infrastructure and Sustainable Development Mark Brooks said:
“This Government has committed to ending the effective digital poverty and exclusion that people in St Helena currently face due to our isolation, and this is another significant landmark in making that a reality. I commend the hard work of SHG officials and the Telecom Egypt teams that have got us to this stage. We are now working to make sure we can all take advantage of the opportunities the cable will bring as soon as possible.”
Notes to Editor
The SLTE, which is the foundation of global submarine cable data transmission, will be capable of delivering large-capacity, high-performance and high-reliability data transmission across the Equiano cable using space-division multiplexing (SDM) technology. The Equiano cable will deliver approximately 20 times more network capacity than the last subsea cable built to serve the West Coast of Africa.
Photos
#StHelena #IsolationConnected #AltogetherWealthier #Equiano #FibreOptic