Digital connectivity in Africa is accelerating. As the demand for internet connectivity rises, so will investments in new undersea cables and data centres in Africa.
The pending arrival the PEACE cable, Equiano, 2Africa, Africa-1 and others will bring much needed additional bandwidth capacity to the continent, but this will not readily bridge the digital divide or automatically connect the more than 60% of the population of the continent that currently do not have access to the internet. A lot more will need to be done to narrow the gap.
The key lies in expanding the footprint of data centres across the continent and creating digital hubs that can support and stimulate the networks that will assist businesses and enterprises grow across the African continent. As many countries within Africa are landlocked, this is a logical approach as the expansion of terrestrial networks, the construction of new data centres and the promotion of digital hubs will bring connectivity and digital resources closer to the developing communities of Africa.
DIGITAL HUBS WILL BE THE NEW BACKBONE OF CONNECTIVITY INFRASTRUCTURE
The development of digital hubs will be critical in facilitating and supporting the expansion of local networks and ensuring real continental connectivity.
Fibre optic networks and geographically spread data centres will provide the new backbone infrastructure for Africa’s future economic growth. According to some reports though, it is estimated that the demand for data centres could exceed supply by more than 300% in the coming years, so investors and architects of these digital hubs will need to be mindful of this - and have the appetite to cope with the challenges of electricity and fuel that is required to drive and cool these sophisticated centres on a continual basis.
Countries such as Angola are progressively promoting the country’s capital, Luanda as a major digital hub or intersection on the continent. Currently, it is a major data exchange point for much of the internet data being transmitted to and from sub-Saharan Africa. The construction of neutral data centres that allow for the secure collocation of data provides the steppingstone or bridge to bring data rich content and diverse services to a local location.
The increase in terrestrial infrastructures, networks and data center operations across Africa is being made possible through international landing points such as Luanda and will provide a neutral access point for future undersea cables as the demand for digital services increases. Such neutral landing points and the construction of neutral data centres should be encouraged as this will help to expand local network ecosystems that drive additional business opportunities.
DATA CENTRES WILL BE REQUIRED TO STORE THE EXPONENTIAL RISE IN DATA
According to Cloudscene, there are at present 121 data centres in Africa, 91 of which are carrier neutral and of the total number of data centres, 70 have been constructed in the past 5 years.
Data transfer and storage will grow exponentially as the demand for Cloud Services and access to 4G and 5G technologies and smartphones become more widely accessible across more parts of the continent. More data centre capacity will be required.
What will be essential to help facilitate the rapid adoption of new technology and services, is the need for cable station landings and data centres to be network neutral - or in other words, permit the co-location and sharing of services between multiple telecommunication carriers and colocation service providers.
Another important aspect in the expansion of data centre networks is the security and sovereignty of data. It has become a topical and important industry issue. The ‘onshoring’ and storage of data in local data centres makes it easier to both comply and manage data within the requirements of these laws. Each country has, or will, promulgate its own specific laws to protect the integrity and privacy of data, and data centre operators, content providers and cloud vendors will be need to comply with these.
ACCESS TO DATA AND CONTENT WILL DRIVE COMMERCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Digitisation is not just an enabler, but today it is a necessity for economic activity. As the population of Africa migrates from feature phones to smart phones, more data will be stored and consumed. Businesses too will want to take advantage of digital-enabled services and online apps which will use more data. And as we venture into the age of AI, more sectors of the economy will be looking to develop technology-based solutions that are driven by vast amounts of data. It will be imperative for data-intensive industries such as finance, healthcare and e-commerce to have low-latency, secure connectivity that will allow them to scale their businesses if they are to compete on a global level.
PROMOTING DIGITAL INNOVATION AND TECH START UPS IN AFRICA
The anticipated arrival of new undersea cables will not only facilitate access to international markets but also foster an environment conducive to digital innovation and the growth of tech startups. With improved internet connectivity, African entrepreneurs can collaborate seamlessly with global partners, access cutting-edge technologies, and leverage cloud-based resources to develop innovative products and services. The promotion of digital hubs will be one way to encourage investment and engagement in new, innovative, technology-driven businesses. Places like Lagos, Nigeria, Kigali in Rwanda and Nairobi in Kenya are already thriving technical clusters that are providing enterprise development opportunities and employment.
BRINGING ADDITIONAL CABLE CAPACITY TO ALL PARTS OF AFRICA, IS THE REAL CHALLENGE
Existing subsea cables such as the West Atlantic Cable System (WACS), connecting Africa to Europe and the South Atlantic Cable System (SACS), linking Africa to the Americas remain the carrier workhorses of digital connectivity to and from Africa and will continue to be so for some time to come. The promised arrival of the hyperscale cables like Equiano and Peace, will bring fresh data capacity to the continent. The real challenge that remains however, is how will leaders in Africa bring about the necessary investments and incentive to ensure that carriers, mobile network providers, hyperscalers and other service providers are able to cement the partnerships to connect the new cables to terrestrial networks and neutral data centres across the length and breadth of the continent?
This will not happen overnight, nor in the next year but the prize of a connected Africa for all, is certainly one worth aiming for.
Author: Lucenildo Júnior, CFO for Angola Cables
