Mali and Senegal Interconnect National Fiber Networks, Enhancing West African Connectivity
Mali’s La Société Malienne de Transmission et de Diffusion (SMTD-SA) and Sénégal Numérique (SENUM-SA) have officially commissioned a new fiber optic link, directly connecting their national fiber networks. This development, announced on Monday, provides landlocked Mali with additional access routes to crucial subsea cable systems. These systems include those passing through Senegal and Cape Verde, such as the Senegal Horn of Africa Regional Express (SHARE) Cable, which links Dakar to Praia in Cape Verde. The SHARE Cable further interconnects with the EllaLink cable (Portugal to Brazil) and the West Africa Cable System (WACS) (Portugal to South Africa). Dakar also serves as a landing station for the 2Africa, ACE, and SAT-3 subsea cables. This interconnection is a direct outcome of an agreement reached during a regional workshop in April, aimed at developing a roadmap for the West African Network of National Backbones (ROA-BN/WANB) project.