For years, Google and Facebook have been confronted by a problem – how do you grow once every internet user is a user. If Alexander wept because there were no more lands to conquer, then Zuck wept because there was no more growth to hack.
To ensure there is always more growth runway, the two internet giants have been investing in getting more people online. Facebook has operated a not-for-profit Internet.org for a decade, getting people connected and active online for free. And Google has experimented with novel ways to get more people online, including Loon, an effort to get internet to rural areas with giant hot air balloons.
The latest efforts by these two companies is laying undersea cables to better connect the continent of Africa. With 1.4 billion people, Africa is the least connected continent and these undersea cables are expected to change this. Research commissioned by Google suggest that in Nigeria, median downloads speeds will improve 6x, data prices will fall 21%, add $10 billion to GDP and create 1.6 million new jobs. After Nigeria, Google’s cable will have two more landing spots – Namibia and South Africa – before connecting back to Europe in Portugal.
Not to be outdone, Meta expect to have their own undersea cable fully encircling the African continent by 2024. This article looks at the implications of this new infrastructure. In a continent where just 33% of people are online and connectivity is often limited this should be an economic boon and improve living standards across the continent. But there are also unknowns with Alphabet and Meta owning such critical pieces of infrastructure, making them look ever more slightly like the telecoms of old.
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