Cameroon and the Central African Republic have signed a memorandum of understanding to interconnect their communication networks via terrestrial fiber optic infrastructure by early 2023.
The document was signed by Minette Libom Lilliken, Minister of Posts and Telecommunications of Cameroon, and Justin Gurna Zako, Minister of Digital Economy, Posts and Telecommunications of the Central African Republic. The agreement underscores the desire for greater digital integration among member countries of the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC).
Reports indicate that the MOU covers physical and logical interconnection between networks, considers security and cost-reducing recovery channels, and details the capacity coordination required to route traffic between networks.
Cameroon has similar agreements with Chad, Congo and Gabon, and Minister Lilliken said the country aims to establish itself as the digital hub of Central Africa as it has connected several submarine cables, including SAT3, WACS, ACE, NCCSS and SAIL .
Minister Zacko noted that CAR's goal is to leverage Cameroon's digital infrastructure. The MOU is part of the broader Central African Backbone (CAB) initiative to provide terrestrial fiber optic connectivity between participating countries.
