Mombasa County's Transport, Infrastructure and Public Works CeC Taufiq Balala met with Paul Cooney - Head of Network Operations and Claes Segelberg - Chief Technical Officer of SEACOM for the maintenance of TEAMS (The East African Marine System).
TEAMS is a 5,000-km fibre-optic undersea cable which links Kenya’s coastal town of Mombasa with Fujairah in the UAE.
TEAMS was built at a cost of USD 130 million as a joint venture between the government of Kenya and Kenyan operators, who hold 85 percent shares and UAE-based operator Etisalat, with 15 percent.
TEAMS cable is connected to the Kenya national fiber backbone network and other major backhaul providers, thus extending the gigabit submarine capacity to the rest of the East African countries: Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania through cross-border connectivity arrangements.
Their deliberations also focussed on the modalities of setting up a hub for maintenance near and around the Mombasa Coast which will be greatly essential in enhancing internet connectivity across the region.
At present, Balala said the hub is set up in UAE which makes it difficult for any cuts within the boundaries of Kenya Coast to make emergency repairs. The meeting was fruitful and more discussions are underway.