Fergie's Tech Blog

India Wires Africa to Beat China

Nicole Willing writes on Light Reading:

The government of India is awarding millions of dollars in grants to African countries for a cross-continental communications network, in the hopes of selling some telecom gear -- and sticking it to China in the process.

The Indian government is investing $1 billion on a massive joint initiative with the African Union to build a Pan-African e-Network (PAN), which will hook up 53 countries with integrated satellite, fiber, and wireless connectivity.

The project, first outlined in a memorandum of understanding between the two parties in October 2005, is moving ahead with Ethiopia, South Africa, Ghana, and Mauritius as the first beneficiaries and Senegal hosting the network hub.

posted by Fergie @ 9/13/2006 02:06:00 PM