The agreement covers expanding a submarine cable with a capacity of ‘3,100 mega bites per second’ (20 STM-1), out of which the ‘2,480 mega bits per second’ (16 STM-1) of the total capacity will be utilized for commercial purposes and the remaining capacity will be used for e-government development program.

"The availability of high-quality broadband at lower prices will accelerate economic development and educational initiatives,” said Amare Amsalu Chief Executive Officer of Ethiopian Telecommunications at the signing ceremony, according to newbusinessethiopia.com

SEACOM’s Chief Executive Officer Brian Herlihy, on his part indicated that his company is honored to have been selected by ETC to provide this important international broadband connectivity element to Ethiopia.

“As we have seen in other countries that gained access to SEACOM, it is only a matter of time before the direct socio-economic benefits created by cheap and readily available bandwidth begin to manifest in Ethiopia and the region,” he noted.

Currently Ethiopian government is engaged in a 1.5 billion USD national initiative to improve the east African country's telecommunications infrastructure. Amongst other projects, its national fiber optic network is set to be expanded significantly.

SEACOM is a 76.56% African owned, 17,000 km submarine fibre optic cable, with a capacity of 1.28 Tbps, enabling for the first time eastern and southern African countries to connect to the rest of the world via India and Europe. Launched in July 2009, the cable connects South Africa, Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania and inland countries Uganda, Rwanda, Ethiopia.