By Etienne Mainimo Mengnjo
Cameroon Telecommunications (CAMTEL) and experts have explored innovative solutions aimed at bolstering sub-regional integration through leveraging the digital economy.
The discussions took place during a one-day event held on April 29 in Yaounde, dubbed “CAMTEL Diplomacy and Sub-Regional Integration (CEMAC) Day.” The event took place on the theme, “International Digital Cooperation, Sub-regional Integration, and the Structural Transformation of Cameroon’s Economy.”
In two different sessions, stakeholders examined regional integration and digital development as well as regional integration and digital interconnection. The seven-presentations included among others the role of ICTs in modern diplomacy and regional integration as well as cybersecurity and defense of economic and strategic interests.
During the opening ceremony, Judith Yah Sunday épse Achidi, Director-General of CAMTEL, highlighted the significance of the event, coinciding with the 25th anniversary of CAMTEL and the 15th edition of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC) Day.
She emphasized the pivotal role of CEMAC in facilitating trade across Africa and underlined the potential of digital technology and interconnection to address economic transformation challenges within the sub-region.
She added, “Our vision is to make CAMTEL a hub of digital transformation in the sub region, so it was important for us on this day to call on all the actor in the sector and subsector so that we can exchange avenues and ways to arrive at and see how far we have gone already.”
Pierre-Guillanume Boum Bissai, the resident representative of the CEMAC Commission in Cameroon, painted the importance of reflecting on CEMAC’s achievements in integration, particularly in the telecommunications and digital transformation sectors, as part of the organization’s 30th-anniversary celebrations. He acknowledged CAMTEL’s role as a leading company in the sub-region in these areas.
The CAMTEL Diplomacy and Sub-Regional Integration Day follows a series of events that has taken place marking the 25th anniversary of CAMTEL. These include CAMTEL Digital Day, CAMTEL Digital Infrastructure Day, CAMTEL Decentralisation Day, CAMTEL Youth Day, and CAMTEL Women’s Day. These events aimed to explore the contribution of digital technologies and ICTs to Cameroon’s structural transformation objectives.
In the same vein, Congo, Cameroon, and the Central African Republic have been working on developing optical fiber interconnection between the countries through the Central African Backbone (CAB) Project since May 2022.
In recent years, digital interconnection has advanced in the sub-region, particularly through the expansion of optical fiber networks and the growth of the digital economy. An example of this is the interconnection, starting in July 2021, of the electronic communications networks of Cameroon and Gabon. This was achieved through the installation of a 96-strand G652 optical fiber cable, spanning underground from Kye-Ossi in Cameroon to Bitam in Gabon, covering a distance of 22 km. This development has brought significant benefits to the economies of both countries.
In terms of interconnection, access, and transport infrastructure-sharing, a catalogue has been established that includes international supply via four submarine cable exits and three landing stations.
The submarine cables in question are: the WACS cable at Batoke (Limbe), connecting Cameroon to various countries on the West African coast and to Europe; the SAT3 cable, with a landing point in Douala, providing an alternative route to Europe and Asia via South Africa; the NCSCS cable in Kribi, linking Cameroon to Nigeria; and the SAIL cable, connecting Kribi to Fortaleza in Brazil, enabling interconnection between Africa and the Americas.
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