LION2 Indian Ocean submarine cable now in service

The Lower Indian Ocean Network 2 (LION2) undersea fiber-optic cable system is now in service, according to France Telecom-Orange. LION2 adds Kenya to the LION network.

The original LION cable system, completed in 2009, links Madagascar to the global broadband network via the Réunion and Mauritius islands. LION2 adds connectivity to Kenya via the island of Mayotte.

The LION2 consortium includes France Telecom-Orange; France Telecom subsidiaries Mauritius Telecom, Orange Madagascar, and Telkom Kenya; and Emtel Ltd. of the Republic of Mauritius and Société Réunionnaise du Radiotéléphone of Réunion Island.

Through its landing station at Kaweni (Mamoudzou), LION2 will provide Mayotte, for the first time, with access to a broadband internet network. In Kenya, the LION2 cable is connected through a new landing station that has been built at Nyali, close to Mombasa.

In addition to providing Internet access to the region, the new cable also provides an alternative route for passing secure broadband transmissions through Europe and Asia for all African countries in which the France Telecom-Orange Group is located, says the consortium member.

The construction of the LION2 cable required about 57 million euros, about 38 million euros of which will come from France Telecom SA and its subsidiaries.