Mombasa's Cable Gives Africa Better Internet Access

Prince Charles might describe the Seacom Landing Station in Mombasa as "a monstrous carbuncle, located right next to Mombasa's most imposing sight, Fort Jesus, built by Vasco da Gama in the 16th century," according to Rory Cellan-Jones, writing in his BBC.com technology blog.

This is where the Seacom cable comes ashore, bringing with it East Africa's first "decent connection to the internet."

Mahmoud Noor, a telecommunications engineer, runs the station, which, Cellan-Jones said, "is just one link in a network stretching from Mumbai to Kenya, and along the cost of East Africa." The new cable increases Kenya's telecommunications capacity by 240 percent.

And better communications may drive development. On the FutureBlogger site, Marisa Vitols argues that the continent will see better education, because "the web actually has resources, cutting-edge information, and teachers who are up-to-date with current technologies."

Also important is economic infrastructure. "Imagine how many people could work in virtual worlds or do some of the more-or-less simple administrative tasks already being outsourced to developing nations?" Vitols asks. "Their price points would certainly give them a competitive advantage when pursuing labor opportunities."

It's also possible that communications could be used to curb Africa's age-old problem: corruption. "African bloggers are increasingly advancing transparency by exposing unjust actions by governmental or non-governmental entities," Vitols writes.

So, the BBC's Cellan-Jones may be right to share "Noor's infectious enthusiasm about the revolution the cable could bring which really struck me on my first day in East Africa." But now, as he points out, "comes the hard bit -- delivering on that promise for millions of Africans eager to be connected."

Photo courtesy of meaduva, via Flickr