BCS Group completes Lake Tanganyika submarine cable

BCS Group, a key player in the telecommunications industry, has recently announced the completion of its ambitious Lake Tanganyika submarine cable project. This groundbreaking infrastructure endeavor is poised to bring fast-speed connections to over 10 million people in East, Central, and Southern Africa. In a recent interview with CNBC Africa, Yonas Maru, the Managing Director and Founder of BCS Group, delved into the challenges, benefits, and regulatory landscape surrounding this transformative installation. Maru highlighted the varied regulatory frameworks across different countries, with some presenting simple and straightforward licensing processes, while others, like the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), pose complex and lengthy hurdles. The bureaucratic delays in the DRC led to the cables being stalled on the lake's banks for two years before deployment due to permitting and licensing holdups. Being primarily a private sector entity, BCS Group derives 99% of its revenues from mobile operators and internet service providers in the region, serving as a wholesale provider of telecommunication services across the African continent. Maru emphasized that the project aligns with BCS's overarching strategy to interconnect the East, West, and Southern regions of Africa. The company currently operates three networks spanning from Angola to Kinshasa in the West, Johannesburg to Lumumbashi in the South, and Mombasa to Kalemi via Uganda, Rwanda, and Lake Tanganyika in the East. Maru detailed the logistical challenges encountered within the DRC, citing the near absence of viable road infrastructure. In navigating this terrain, BCS Group plans to utilize the existing 2,600 kilometers of railroads in Southern and Central DRC, transitioning to the navigable rivers and lakes after the rail routes conclude. The company is steadily progressing along the railroad from Lumumbashi, having covered 350 kilometers thus far with a remaining 950 kilometers to reach the Lake Tanganyika fiber, targeted for completion by the end of July. Subsequent to this milestone, BCS Group intends to extend its network from the Congo River to Kisangani and eventually Kinshasa by mid-next year. The unveiling of the Lake Tanganyika submarine cable is anticipated to revolutionize connectivity in the region, providing telcos, ISPs, and digital businesses with significantly enhanced capacity at lower costs and faster speeds than the current satellite-based services. Therefore, the uptake of this transformative infrastructure is projected to be seamless, offering a substantial advancement in service delivery for telecom operators in the area. Looking ahead, BCS Group's roadmap includes plans to further expand cross-border connections by venturing into the Congo River route from Kinshasa to Kisangani, covering approximately 1,700 kilometers, and extending upstream towards Kindu, spanning 330 kilometers. Additionally, the company aims to establish connections to Congo Brazzaville, the Central African Republic, Chad, and potentially Nigeria through the development of strategic gateways and networks. The future holds promising prospects for BCS Group as it continues to spearhead innovative telecommunications initiatives across the African continent, fostering enhanced connectivity and digital transformation in the region.