Connect St Helena!

Helping the people of St Helena in the middle of the South Atlantic to join the Information Age by tapping into @Google's #Equiano cable

[Megaconstellations 🌍📡🛰️🛰️🛰️🛰️🛰️🛰️ @Megaconstellati]

🇸🇭 A remarkable story in the confluence of cables & constellations: how @OneWeb by its interest to build a gateway in the South Atlantic facilitated funding for St Helena's submarine cable & how @Starlink then forced the island monopolist to actually let islanders use the cable.

[Doug Madory (also on Bluesky) @DougMadory]

In my latest blog post for @kentikinc, I cover Saint Helena's historic submarine cable activation and tell the story of the years-long advocacy work by @ConnectStHelena to make this development a reality.
https://t.co/5EfQm0nHSb

[teltarif.de @teltarif]

St. #Helena jetzt über Glasfaser erreichbar #Insel https://t.co/06filOfS1G

[David Belson (@[email protected]) @dbelson]

@DougMadory @lpoinsig Impressive -- looks like its up as much as 70x as compared to the past week: https://t.co/NX3RHtwAtJ

[Louis P @lpoinsig]

Induced demand for Internet in Saint Helena of about 10x (https://t.co/Z3eLhp6SVy)

[Connect St Helena! @ConnectStHelena]

🇸🇭Today marks a historical moment for St Helena island in the South Atlantic Ocean. In the early morning hours, the island's connection to @Google's Equiano cable was activated, bringing 4500 people into the broadband age. Tune in to the initial reactions:
https://t.co/agPAIwAYVn

[Doug Madory (also on Bluesky) @DougMadory]

BREAKING NEWS: As of early this morning, the South Atlantic island of St Helena is now sending traffic over their new subsea cable branch to @Google's Equiano cable.

@kentikinc synthetics saw a dramatic drop in latency from AWS in London: 657ms → 131ms!
https://t.co/pNhpdQlcuY

[Connect St Helena! @ConnectStHelena]

St Helena finally activates its link to @Google's Equiano cable funded by €21.5m grant from @EU_Commission but telecoms monopolist remains, continues to limit data allowance on some tariffs despite 100Gbps IRU to Portugal paid for by European taxpayers:
https://t.co/ildZBBDWpw

[Connect St Helena! @ConnectStHelena]

@IanJohnBuckley @Megaconstellati @TMFAssociates @StHelenaGovt @Starlink @OneWeb @Google And because of this legal clusterfuck 4,500 people isolated in the middle of the South Atlantic cannot use a 80Tbps submarine cable - the fastest of its kind - that the @EU_Commission through the European Development Fund gifted them by a €21.5m grant: https://t.co/TZ9RE12SP3

[Connect St Helena! @ConnectStHelena]

@IanJohnBuckley @Megaconstellati @TMFAssociates @StHelenaGovt @Starlink @OneWeb @Google St Helena 's Telecommunications Ordinance reads like an artefact from the days of the East India Company. Basically one of the UK's remotest communities is held hostage by a monopoly as the island would need to buy them out if their monopoly is not extended.

[Megaconstellations 🌍📡🛰️🛰️🛰️🛰️🛰️🛰️ @Megaconstellati]

🇸🇭 @StHelenaGovt warns public not to use @Starlink as it contravenes exclusivity of the island's telecoms monopolist, Sure South Atlantic, which in turn is building a @OneWeb gateway. Violations after 01-NOV-2023 may result in confiscation of equipment.
https://t.co/h7y73EaIuF

[Connect St Helena! @ConnectStHelena]

@larrypress @Megaconstellati @philBE2 @OneWeb No, still in limbo. The island government couldn't agree with the monopolist on an extension past 2023 & are now building their own publicly owned FTTH network but it's unclear who will light it up. It could still be Sure but the monopoly is likely to end.
https://t.co/DtF8z5gBoD

[philbe2 @philBE2]

🇸🇭Saints' bittersweet view of Equiano RFS :

“@SEACOM are now using the fastest direct data transmission route
between Africa and Europe…lucky @SEACOM users.

In StHelena we pay £17,000 a quarter for NOT using our Equiano branch”…🙄 @StHelenaGovt

🔎p4: https://t.co/LiVmcwEHHk

[philbe2 @philBE2]

15MAR23 • Equiano cable goes live between 🇿🇦 and 🇵🇹

📈Breaking News ❗️
Despatch from Our Man in 🇿🇦Cape Town ❗️

@Seacom just activated their own 12 Tbps fiber pair ExpressRoute over Equiano cable, now live between 🇿🇦 Melkbosstrand and 🇵🇹 Sesimbra.

📃 https://t.co/lRkZddGr6H

[Connect St Helena! @ConnectStHelena]

@philBE2 @AxiomSASParis

[philbe2 @philBE2]

05SEP22 • Equiano 🌍Europe-Africa - Towards Final Splice

Following 🇿🇦Melkbosstrand landing,
🇫🇷🚢CS Ile de Sein slowly deployed ≈200km 🧭WSW section for 28d.

Now, picking up speed 🧭NW closing the final gap to Southern trunk tail buoy.

@ASN_comm @ConnectStHelena @OpenServeZA

[Connect St Helena! @ConnectStHelena]

@philBE2 @EllaLink_Cable @BELLA_Programme @GEANTnews @MoovMauritel Maybe the Brehat will come to pick up this cable load after she has completed the Equiano branch to Lagos (including its two enroute BUs which obviously take time).

[Connect St Helena! @ConnectStHelena]

9 months after its first landfall in #StHelena Google's Equiano cable was landed in Europe today.

[philbe2 @philBE2]

24MAY22 • Equiano 🌍 Europe-Africa cable landing - 🇵🇹Sesimbra

Breaking Despatch from our Girl in 🇵🇹Sesimbra ! 😉

🇫🇷🚢CS Ile de Sein just landed Equiano on Sesimbra BMH

Actual Golden-buoy reached shore this morning 😎
@ConnectStHelena @ASN_comm @Google @altice_portugal

[Connect St Helena! @ConnectStHelena]

.@helena_indy reports ¾ of @Google's Equiano submarine cable set to bring the broadband age to #StHelena has been completed. Currently 3 cable layers are deployed but @ASN_Comm's Île de Brehat has been idling for 2 weeks off Lagos. Commissioning expected in March 2023.
@philBE2