The monopoly of fiber optic cable hinders growth of Somaliland economy

Hargeisa (Somaliland.com) – Days after East Africa’s largest Submarine cable landed in Djibouti, Somaliland has made it clear that the cable will not land in Berbera.

The Ministry of Telecommunication and Postal Services of Somaliland says a 25-year monopoly agreement with a communications company has led to Djibouti Telecom, Telekom Kenya and Somtel Somalia to skip Somaliland and set up a submarine cable system to link the East African coastline.

The cable which landed in Djibouti on Sunday will link Djibouti, Mogadishu, Mombasa and Bosaso towns in the region, and will deliver a capacity of up to 30 terabits per second.

The 5,400-kilometer cable system dubbed the Djibouti Africa Regional Express 1(DARE1) will link Djibouti, Mogadishu, Mombasa and Bosaso, and will deliver a capacity of up to 30 terabits per second.

The minister for Telecommunication and Postal services of Somaliland has made it clear that the cable will not land in Berbera.

The minister for Telecommunication and Postal services Abdiwali Sheikh Abdullahi said a 25-year monopoly agreement between the Government of Somaliland and a private telecommunications company which in 2011 led to the rejection of a similar cable that was to land in Berbera, has made it hard for the largest submarine cable in East Africa to skip Somaliland.

He, however, said there is still room for further engagement.

The cable leaves Djibouti through Bosaso, a town in the North-Eastern Somalia State of Puntland through Mogadishu and Mombasa.

Bosaso is already connected to another international cable which gives redundancy and options for managing traffic.

Somalia’s capital Mogadishu also has another cable that has been rejected to land in Berbera in 2011 which also gives the Somali capital an abundant capacity and diversity for its internet connectivity.

This vessel will be moving a couple of nautical-miles a day and will reach Mombasa on March this year.

The cable is expected to be ready for service in May 2020.

The initiative will also open room for interconnection between telecommunication players in the Somali territories and the larger East Africa.