According to Alex Masu, network investment head for Africa and the Middle East at Meta, the social media giant sees the next two to three years as crucial for driving investment into terrestrial fibre networks across the region.
"The current focus is on long-distance terrestrial corridors like Nairobi to Kinshasa or Nairobi to Mombasa," Masu told industry stakeholders at an ICT infrastructure symposium hosted by Digital Council Africa and Nedbank in Johannesburg on Thursday.
Similar to Meta's ambitions with its 45 000km-long 2Africa undersea cable system, the US firm aims to drive down the total cost of ownership for wholesale internet service providers in the hope that will trickle down to consumers, improving penetration rates to the benefit of Meta and other companies.
"We wouldn't own any of the infrastructure because that adds complexity, especially from a regulatory perspective. We would manage the investments through partners," said Masu. (c) 2024 NewsCentral Media
