Gambia and Guinea recently made a big move in tech! They signed a deal to create another underwater internet cable soon. Rose Pola Pricemou from Guinea and Ousmane Bah from Gambia signed the agreement.
The new cable aims to make internet connections faster and cheaper for both countries. The World Bank is pitching in money for this project through the West African Digital Integration Project.
Right now, Gambia and Guinea use the ACE cable for fast internet. ACE is a long cable that links 24 countries in Africa to Europe. It started working in 2012. The ACE cable is super important because it’s the first one to connect Gambia, Guinea, Liberia, and Mauritania to the rest of the world.
But there’s been trouble with these cables lately. In March 2024, many African countries had no internet because of cable damage. It’s not the first time this has happened. In 2018, ten countries in West Africa lost internet for days because of damage to another cable called ACE.
So, Gambia and Guinea want a backup plan. They’re building another cable to make sure they stay connected even if one cable gets damaged. This way, they hope to give better internet to more people without spending too much.