Guinea's government is pursuing initiatives to expand high-speed internet access across the country. These efforts may be bolstered by support from partners like the World Bank.

Guinea is set to be connected to a second subsea cable, as announced by Rose Pola Pricemou, the country’s Minister of Posts, Telecommunications and the Digital Economy, on March 26. The move is part of the Western Africa Regional Digital Integration Program (WARDIP), aimed at strengthening Guinea’s digital sovereignty.

“Currently, only one subsea cable connects Guinea to the rest of the world. Through the WARDIP project, we will gain a second subsea cable. It is unacceptable that in 2024, people in the most remote villages cannot access basic social services digitally. Literacy should not be a prerequisite to benefit from public services,” Pricemou said.

The government first revealed its intention to connect to a second undersea cable in February 2022 to bolster the country’s high-speed telecoms infrastructure. Since 2014, Guinea has relied mainly on the ACE (Africa Coast to Europe) cable for broadband services. However, recurrent failures on this infrastructure have disrupted internet service in the country, necessitating a second cable.

The World Bank will finance the future infrastructure under the WARDIP program. In December, the government secured $60 million to enhance internet access. According to the 2022 annual report of the local telecom regulator, ARPT, Guinea has 6.98 million mobile internet subscribers, with a penetration rate of 52%.

The deployment of this second cable is expected to not only boost infrastructure capacity through additional connectivity but also extend these services to millions more people and reduce costs. The project aligns with the government’s digital transformation ambitions.

Samira Njoya