Somcable engineers a communication revolution across Horn of Africa

DUBAI: Internet has changed the way the health sector in some of the African countries operates. Better internet and mobile connectivity have brought huge benefits to hospitals and health professionals. For instance, doctors and health care workers in the region are now able to exchange information in real-time, thereby improving disease diagnosis and patient management. Similarly, medical staff can now use video conferencing to consult with other colleagues and disease specialists based in the capital.

This has been made possible by companies such as Hargeisa-based Somcable Ltd, whose terrestrial fibre optic cable infrastructure covers a total distance of 2,600 km in the Horn of Africa.

Somcable is part of the Dubai-based MSG Group of Companies, which has interest in a number of sectors such as trading, manufacturing, telecommunications, petroleum & gas exploration, energy distribution, shipping & transit services, logistics management and construction.

“Somcable is driven by a vision to improve the lives of the citizens of countries in the Horn of Africa with the most robust and innovative telecommunications services,” says Mohamed Said Guedi, chairman of MSG group. It has been found that every time a fibre optic cable is connected to a country its GDP goes up, he added.

The company started construction works in 2009 with a 25-year licence for the rollout of Somaliland’s first fibre-optic infrastructure. It has deployed a terrestrial fibre-optic network to allow Somaliland to interconnect to the region’s submarine cables. The concession also included individual operating and spectrum licences for last-mile access deployments.

Somcable works with over two dozen telecommunication providers, bringing customised solutions for clients. The partners include operators from neighbouring countries including Djibouti Telecom (Djibouti) and Ethio Telecom (Ethiopia), apart from global giants such as Google and Facebook.

Somcable through its retail outlet company SO! Ltd in 2015 has officially launched 4G LTE technology in the Somaliland region in collaboration with US-based network and IT software solution providers and broadband wireless equipment suppliers. The LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) platform has been launched alongside a fibre-optic Gigabit Passive Optical Network (GPON), enabling the company to offer high speed fixed and mobile broadband services to commercial and residential customers.

The retailer SO! Ltd provides subscription plans for all market segmentation and supports low income families with a tailored solution as it’s the company’s philosophy to ensure that everybody should have internet access.

SO! Ltd enjoys a proven, end-to-end full 4G LTE solution that supports current business needs and future services as they evolve.

Somcable is now working on creating a gateway in Berbera, Somaliland, which has great potential of becoming an international submarine cable hub, strategically located on the Gulf of Aden, allowing cross connectivity to Europe/Asia. Plans are already underway for the landing of international submarine cables in Berbera.

Somcable has built and constructed a unified fibre network across the Horn of Africa, which connects Somaliland to Djibouti, Ethiopia and Puntland State of Somalia with the latter under progress.

The company has a fully redundant network with multiple connection points to ensure services are uninterrupted on the connections that runs between Djibouti to Somaliland via a terrestrial long-haul fibre optic network that connects the two points on land. The idea is that if one fails, the other serves as a back-up, ensuring uninterrupted redundant service.