In order to make Benin accessible to the outside world a fiber optic link will be installed by the SAT-3 consortium through to Togo and Nigeria.

For a total cost of 1,701,792,555 CFA; 80 % which will be financed by the West African Development Bank (BOAD), the connection between Benin and Togo covers a distance of 120 km and will be built by the French telecommunication company SAGEM.

The connection of 36 fibres will be set up via 2 relay sites and will make it possible for Togo to improve the quality of its national telecommunications network.

Togo will be able to offer to the consumer faster Internet accessibility and telephony services at affordable cost. The total capacity of this connection is estimated at 500 million minutes of communication between Benin and Togo and will make it possible to run out 1 million simultaneous communications.

Other advantages of this 2 megabit SAT3 cable link is that it will to the digitalization of Benin's telecommunications network.

Meanwhile, the fiber optic link between Benin and Nigeria was also launched on Wednesday, September 19, 2007 under the patronage of Benin?s head of State, H.E Dr. Boni YAYI.

The link will cost 1,200,000,000 CFA to build and will have a capacity of 64 STM1 and will help run out 120,960 simultaneous phone calls and 2 billion minutes of communication per month.

It can also carry 1,000 channels of digital TV. Once achieved, it will enable Benin to extend its national network and increase its capacity in supplying services of mobile phones, of high debit Internet access, of video conference etc...

It must be noted that the SAT3 sub marine cable set up in Benin is a national electronic highway with international extensions jointly financed by the West African Development Bank and the national telecoms companies of 7 West African Economic and Monetary Union States. Its aim is to offer better telecommunications services at competitive rates.

Highway Africa News Agency