Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Luanda (Agenzia Fides)- Angola, Namibia and Botswana have started contact to create an optical fibre network among their three countries. On 17 July in Luanda, members of the telecommunications ministries of the three countries signed a memorandum establishing the main points of collaboration.
Namibia and Botswana give great importance to creating a broad band connection with Angola, because it hosts one of the SAT 3 terminals, an optical fibre cable which joins Spain and Portugal to South Africa, connecting several African countries en route. The connection points in Africa are: Dakar, in Senegal; Abidjan, in Cote d'Ivoire; Accra, in Ghana; Cotonou, in Benin; Lagos, in Nigeria; Douala, in Cameroon; Libreville, in Gabon; Cacuaco, in Angola; Melkbosstrand, in South Africa, where SAT 3 meets another cable which connects South Africa with India.
At the meeting it was decided to make a first connection between Luanda and a place in Namibia, extending the national cable which connects the enclave of Cabinda with Namibia, passing various localities including Luanda. Another connection will pass through the strip of Caprivi, which from disputed territory becomes a bridge uniting the three countries for common economic development. There are also plans to connect SAT 3 through Angola with Democratic Congo, the Republic of Congo and Zambia. Angola is set to become an important telematic point in Southern Africa. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 18/7/2007 righe 25 parole 286)
