The latest news shows that a $425 million submarine cable that Huawei is involved in building to connect China with Europe and Africa has arrived in Kenya.
The 15,000-kilometer cable, called Peace, is part of the mainland's "Digital Silk Road" plan. The plan promotes trade and investment between the Asian economy and the rest of the world by deploying information and communication technology infrastructure.
Image source: Shutterstock
In 2018, the "Peace" high-speed submarine cable project officially started. The cable connects China and Pakistan by land and then travels about 7,500 miles under the sea before reaching Marseille, France. Another branch line extends south to East Africa, reaching the Kenyan port city of Mombasa. The project's sponsors said in a press statement that the second phase plans to expand the project to Singapore and southern Africa.
Huawei is currently a shareholder of Hengtong Optoelectronics Co., Ltd., which builds cables. The ceo of Kenyan telecommunications company Telkom Kenya said the cable will help meet Future Broadband Capacity Needs in East Africa, enhance redundancy and minimize transmission times connecting Asia and Europe.
It is reported that the "peace" cable is the sixth submarine cable laid in Kenya. Five of the six are operated and maintained by Kenya's TelkomKenya.
Submarine cables are of great strategic importance, and many submarine cables are owned and operated by U.S. companies, reinforcing U.S. dominance on the Internet. But according to the Peace and Conflict Institute and the Leiden Asia Center in the Netherlands, by 2019, China has become the landing point, owner or supplier of 11.4% of the world's submarine cables, and this proportion is expected to grow to 20% between 2025 and 2030.