EASSy
submarine fibre optic cable system
The Eastern Africa Submarine Cable System (EASSy) is an undersea fibre optic cable system connecting countries in Eastern Africa to the rest of the world.
EASSy runs from Mtunzini in South Africa to Port Sudan in Sudan, with landing points in nine countries and is connected to at least ten landlocked countries — which will no longer have to rely on satellite Internet access to carry voice and data services.
EASSy was the highest capacity system serving sub-Saharan Africa until the commissioning of WACS. It has a 2 fibre-pair configuration with a design capacity of more than 10 terabit per second (Tbit/s). It is the first to deliver direct connectivity between east Africa and Europe / North America. It is the only system with built-in resilience end-to-end. EASSy interconnects with multiple international submarine cable networks for onward connectivity to Europe, the Americas, and Asia.
The project, partially funded by the World Bank, was initiated in January 2003, when a handful of companies investigated its feasibility. The cable entered service on 16 July 2010, with commercial service starting on 30 July 2010.
Project milestones
MoU signature – December 2003
Detailed feasibility study – March 2004
Data gathering meeting – June 2005
C&MA drafting finalization – March 2006
Supply contract award – September 2006
Registration/incorporation of SPV – January 2007
Construction and maintenance agreement (Shareholders' Agreement) Signature (C&MA) – 12 October 2006 to 12 February 2007
Financial closure – March 2007
Supply contract signature – March 2007
Construction Started – March 2008
Cable manufacture complete – November 2009
Marine laying commencing – December 2009
Construction complete – April 2010
Live – July 2010
Telecommunications companies of participating nations
West Indian Ocean Cable Company WIOCC comprising:
Botswana Fibre Networks (BOFINET)
DALKOM Somalia
Djibouti Telecom
Gilat Satcom Nigeria
Seychelles Cable System
Lesotho Communications Authority
Onatel Burundi
TMCEL Mozambique
Telkom Kenya
Libyan Post Telecommunications & Information Technology Company (LPTIC)
Liquid Telecom
Uganda Telecom Limited
Zantel Tanzania
TelOne Zimbabwe
MTN Group
Sudatel Sudan
Vodacom
Telkom South Africa
Botswana Telecommunications Corporation
BT Group
Global Marine Systems
Comores Cables
Telma Madagascar
Etisalat
FT
Mauritius Telecom
STC Saudi Arabia
Bharti Airtel
Liquid Telecom
Tanzania Telecommunications Company Limited
Cable landing points
The cable landing points are:
Port Sudan, Sudan
Djibouti
Mogadishu, Somalia
Mombasa, Kenya
Moroni, Comoros
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Toliary, Madagascar
Maputo, Mozambique
Mtunzini, South Africa
See also
ACE
LION
Main One
SAT-2
SAT-3/WASC
SAFE
SEACOM
TEAMS
WACS
BRICS
Australia West Express (AWE)
References
"Eastern Africa submarine cable delayed for one year", Sudan Tribune, February 4, 2006
"Kenya: Govt Gives Ultimatum for Cable Project", The East African Standard, May 17, 2006
"Africa Resolves Telecommunications Debate Over EASSy Project", Infoworld, June 12, 2006
"Alcatel Wins EASSy Contract", IT Web, July 12, 2006
"Kenya aims for own internet cable", BBC News, September 8, 2006
"Marine cable project 'to completed as planned'". Archived from the original on November 14, 2009.
“EASSy” enters the record as submarine fibre optic cable system. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what EASSy, submarine and fibre can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 5, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q687030. 1 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2003, 2010, 2004 and 2005.
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