“Hannibal” submarine cable confirms Tunisia’s IT leadership in the region
TUNISIAONLINENEWS- In today’s world, the most effective land and sea victories are those that are achieved by conquering new markets and setting up innovative technologies that can increase a country’s independence, while better connecting it to the world surrounding it.
In this sense, the new 100% Tunisian submarine optic fibre cable, symbolically dubbed “Hannibal”, in reference to the brave Carthaginian general who set out to defeat Rome 22 centuries ago, is one of modern Tunisia’s major technological feats.
Launched by Tunisie Telecom, Tunisia’s leading provider of telecommunications and internet services, the 170 km long cable was landed on the sea bed and dug in one meter below sea level, using a remotely operated submarine. The operation which took 68 days to complete will ensure the country’s digital independence while boosting its telecommunication capacity by 7 times, to reach 3, 2 Terabytes per second. It will also enhance Tunisia’s IT connection capacity, broadband growth and enable Tunisia to provide internet services to the African continent, making it a regional IT hub.
Set up in partnership with “Interoute”, Europe’s leading IT network, “Hannibal” will connect to Sicily with through Interoute’s landing station on the island.
Commenting on the event, Interoute’s CEO, Gareth Williams, said that “Interoute is proud to be involved in this significant step for Tunisia. It is a very exciting time for the country as it is one of the fastest growing telecommunications markets in Africa. Tunisie Telecom has made significant investments in modernizing the infrastructure over recent years and it has developed a cutting edge telecommunications offering. The extra capacity and resilience provided by the new cable, will make Tunisia even more attractive to foreign investors looking to establish operations in the region.”
Tunisia’s 11 th Development Plan (2007-2011) is tabling on a 17% growth of the IT sector and a 13, 5% contribution of the sector to the country’s GDP. In 2008 the participation of the IT sector to the GDP was 10%.
Recently, in an address delivered at the opening of an international high-level conference on “Building the knowledge economy”, President Ben Ali reaffirmed that the knowledge and digital divide is essentially a development gap before being a technological discrepancy”, adding that that “ we therefore, have no other path but to keep pace with the knowledge and digital revolution, while relying essentially on our human resources, by enhancing such vital sectors as education, training, higher education and scientific research”.
The IT sector is one of the sectors where human resources are vital and can make an effective contribution to a country’s economy. Thanks to the “Hannibal” project, Tunisia is poised to move another step further towards the knowledge economy, paving the way for further digital victories.
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