landing of the ACE cable at Penmarc’h in Brittany in France

The new ACE (Africa Coast to Europe) broadband submarine cable intended to serve 23 countries between France and South Africa landed October 10, 2011 in the submarine cable station at Penmarc’h (Finistère, France).

The 17,000 km-long ACE cable will extend broadband internet access across Africa, increase traffic security between Europe, Africa and Asia, and cover capacity requirements in the forthcoming years:

First international submarine cable for Gambia, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Liberia, Mauritania, Sao Tomé & Principe, Sierra Leone, bringing ACE broadband access allowing these countries to access new uses;
Countries without a sea coast such as Mali and Niger will also be connected via the land-based network;
For countries already served by the SAT3-WASC-SAFE cable, ACE will offer an alternative to ensure the secure transfer of communications;
ACE will also represent an additional western route allowing traffic to be directed to Europe for Reunion Island, and for Group subsidiaries established in Africa and the Indian Ocean; ACE will also diversify transmission arteries between Portugal and France. It is scheduled to be brought online in 2012.

In order to achieve this ambitious project, France Telecom S.A. accompanied by its subsidiaries Côte d'Ivoire Telecom, Orange Cameroon, Orange Guinea, Orange Mali, Orange Niger, Sonatel, created major partnerships within an international consortium.

an essential asset for the Group’s broadband network in Africa
Thanks to the development of its submarine networks, the Group is contributing to the development of a high-quality worldwide network. These cables represent broadband arteries enabling it to access high-performance tools at manageable costs to meet the growing needs of its customers. They thus represent an essential asset in its objective of democratizing access to internet (both dial-up and broadband) in Africa, where it is present in around 20 countries.