Construction has begun on the US$200 million New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) undersea cable network that is expected to connect Africa to the rest of the world by 2010.

The cable, dubbed "UHURUNET" (meaning "freedom"), will run under the Indian Ocean to bring less expensive, high-speed, high-quality and reliable communication to a region that still relies on satellite. As Africa's longest and most expensive cable, it will have a capacity of 3.84T bps (bits per second).

Several countries in Africa have already signed memorandums of understanding with NEPAD's e-Africa Commission for the cable's construction.

The e-Africa Commission, based in Johannesburg, was created in 2001 to accelerate Africa's telecom development. The commission's broadband infrastructure protocol calls for signatories to implement various network integration projects and provide a framework for regulatory issues.

The protocol to develop UHURUNET came into force in April, after seven countries (enough to get the project off the ground) ratified the Kigali Protocol.

The construction of the cable means that African governments must start formulating policies that favor the development of ICT and communication networks in the region, said Radakrishan Roy Padayache, Ugandan deputy minister for the Department of Communication. Governments must ensure that telecom infrastructure becomes available not only in urban areas but also in remote rural areas, to ease communication problems, he added.

"This will enable an ordinary person access the Internet, mobile phone service and fixed-line phones, which is currently not the case," Padayache said.

NEPAD's broadband infrastructure project has been split into two networks: the submarine UHURUNET cable and UMOJANET, a terrestrial cable segment. The two networks will be managed by the special-purpose vehicle BAHARICOM, a consortium made up of regional telecom companies to manage various projects.

The project is, however, running late by one year. It was supposed to be operational by the end of this year instead of by 2010, according to NEPAD.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.