During the press conference organised on 28 October 2015 in the ministry, Imane Houda Feraoun (photo), Algerian Minister of Posts and Information and Communication Technology, announced the start of the optic fibre interconnection works from Algeria to Spain for this month of November 2015. Two sections will be worked on: Oran-Valencia and Algiers-Valencia.

The project which dates back to 2009, and which launch was delayed due to administrative challenges, finally had its funding secured last week. Simple coincidence therefore that it will be launched after the disruptions on the international internet traffic experienced in Algeria following the cut on the sub-marine optic fibre cable Sea-Me-We 4 which links the city of Annaba to Marseille in France.

The new sections of sub-marine optic fibre cables will thus be a backup to guarantee the continuity of the international internet traffic in case another incident occurs. The total cost of the optic fibre interconnection project from Algeria to Spain is evaluated at € 36 million (26 million for the Oran-Valencia stretch and 10 million for the Algiers-Valencia one). The works will take 14 months.

Algeria is currently connected to two sub-marine optic fibre cables. The Algiers-Palma (Italy) one has a capacity of 80 Go and the Annaba-Marseille (France) one has a maximum capacity of 425 Go.