By Alkesh Sharma
Google’s Equiano subsea cable has arrived in Togo, the first country in West Africa to introduce commercial 5G mobile services, the company announced on Friday.
Equiano is part of the Alphabet-owned company’s US$1 billion subsea internet project to build digital capabilities on the Africa continent.
“As 300 million people come online in Africa over the next five years, the Equiano cable is part of our ongoing commitment … expanding opportunity and improving connectivity in order to help bring the benefits of technology to more Africans,” Google Africa’s managing director Nitin Gajria said.
Equiano is expected to result in faster internet speeds, improved user experience and lower internet prices in Togo, an economic impact assessment conducted by Africa Practice and Genesis Analytics showed.
Internet speeds in the country are expected to more than double from 10 megabits per second last year to 21mbps in 2025, while retail internet prices are predicted to decline by 14 per cent over the same period, it added.
In the next three years, Equiano aims to indirectly create 37,000 new jobs in Togo driven by the growth of the digital economy and peripheral sectors.
Not only will the cable improve the resilience of the Google network, but other partners will also benefit from the cable’s capacity, Mr. Gajria said.
“We are partnering with multiple key telecom players, including Societe d’infrastructures numeriques (SIN) and CSquared, where Equiano lands to ensure that the cable can reach more businesses and end users across Togo and the African continent more broadly,” he added.
Equiano, which is expected to be ready by the end of this year, will carry about 20 times more network capacity than the last cable built to serve this region, the company said.
“We have worked with local partners to ensure that Equiano will be able to improve reliability in global communications … we look forward to helping contribute to the achievement of Togo’s digital goals and accelerating digital transformation not only in the country, but across the continent,” said Gajria.
