(Ecofin Agency) - On September 25, 2017, Mauritius Telecom has signed with IOX Cable, a firm with experience in building submarine cables in Africa, a contract to become an anchor tenant on its IOX Cable System which should be operational in 2019. The 8850km-long cable will connect Mauritius, La Reunion and Rodrigues Island to South Africa and India. 

With the new submarine fiber optic cable system, Mauritius Telecom aims to boost its data capacity providing its customers unbeatable services. 

In the press release announcing the agreement, IOX Cable said the new system “will be the first open access cable system in the region and it offers the opportunity for any licensed operators to benefit from the latest technology and seamless access throughout the life cycle of the cable system”.  “The IOX Cable System combined with IOX Cable’s integrated service offerings will provide seamless interconnection to existing and future submarine cable system off the east coast of Africa and India, and also provide onward connectivity to the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and the Asia Pacific region,” the released added. 

Once completed, the IOX Cable System will be the fourth submarine cable to which Mauritius will be connected. Indeed, the country already enjoys connectivity provided by Lower Indian Ocean Network (LION) and South Africa Far East (SAFE) and will soon receive the MElting poT Indianoceanic Submarine System (METISS), an initiative of the a consortium of operators from Mauritius, La Reunion and Madagascar.