In Kenya, there are three live cables the -- the East Africa Marine System, Seacom and EASSy ensuring optimal connectivity.

Tejpal Bedi, chairman of Telecommunications Service Providers Association of Kenya (Tespok), says that despite the investments, internet costs are still high and most cross-border exchange and hosting is in Europe and North America.

For example, to send an email from Nairobi to Kigali, it is routed through Europe then back to Kigali.

This is because Rwanda is a landlocked country, and is connected on a land line via Uganda and Mombasa.

"The scenario is replicated across the entire region," Mr Bedi said at the inaugural Africa Peering and Interconnection Forum in Nairobi on Wednesday.

Karen Rose, director regional development at the Internet Society, says the per megabit satellite connectivity costs of between Sh160,000 and Sh400,000 or more in many African countries, dampens growth and ships precious financial resources overseas.

The forum, hosted by Tespok and Internet Society, brings operators and regulators together, to map how they reduce international connectivity charges.

Telkom Kenya says it has completed its interconnection of the fibre optic network to Uganda, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Somalia and Sudan and is looking to do so in Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo, says the firm's deputy chief executive Jane Karuku.

Seacom's senior vice president, Jean-Pierre De Lue, said one of the biggest problems is the cost of local backhaul.