Namibia joins fibre-optic connection with India

CABINET has approved an agreement with Telecommunications Consultants India that will connect seven universities to over 50 learning centres and will allow all African government leaders to do video-conferencing.

Cabinet authorised Joel Kaapanda, Minister of Information and Communication Technology, to sign the agreement, the latest press statement on Cabinet resolutions stated on Friday.The project will connect two universities in India and five in Africa to 53 learning centres as well as between ten specialty hospitals (three in India and seven in Africa) and 53 remote hospitals.It will establish VVIP connectivity between 53 African Heads of State for voice, Internet and video-conferencing, as well as continental and national tele-medicine and tele-education infrastructure.At the Pan-African Parliament inaugural meeting in September 2004, the President of India proposed the Pan-African Satellite and Fibre Optic Connectivity Project to connect India with all member states of the African Union for tele-medicine, tele-education and VVIP tele-conferencing. The Indian Government will sponsor the set-up and management of the project for the first five years, after which it will be transferred to a nominated AU agency for co-ordination and a Namibian Government-nominated agency for sustained operations.The Indian government will ensure the transmission of the signal on the terrestrial network of India to the submarine cable on the African continent; equipment for VSAT, tele-education, tele-medicine and VVIP connectivity; and the required Indian expertise to operate and train Namibian counterparts for five years.India will also finance and equip regional hubs for tele-education and medicine purposes and facilitate the migration of the project to the Regional African Satellite Communication System (RASCOM), once the system becomes operational.In return, Namibia will have to conclude the bilateral framework agreement; nominate a national project coordinator and establish a co-ordinating structure; provide all local infrastructure for hosting the VSAT equipment, including the building, power, air-conditioning and support staff; and facilitate clearance in respect of local licensing, transport and visas.Other SADC countries that have already signed the agreement are Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Wide consultations on the Pan-African Satellite and Fibre-Optic Connectivity Project took place with the Office of the Prime Minister and relevant government and parastatal bodies.