Africa could not be the home of the next great innovator if it had constrained bandwidth, Seacom CEO Brian Herlihy said on Thursday, adding that Seacom had brought the bandwidth-bearing infrastructure to the continent and now the company’s partners could “start making things happen”.

Speaking at the Seacom public exhibition tent at the Nelson Mandela square in Sandton, Herlihy added that all the technological advancements that companies such as Cisco, Neotel, Dimension Data and Microsoft dreamt of, were now possible because the 1,2Tb capacity undersea fibre-optics cable infrastructure was operational on the continent.

The cable went live in July, and the current exhibition aimed at showcasing some of the possibilities made available by the newly accessible broadband on the continent.

A 155Mb/s dedicated link, connected directly to the Internet in London, was provided through the Seacom network, and plugged into 30 computers on-site. Seacom said that the speed provided equated to downloading 15 full length DVDs an hour, or connecting two-million telephone calls simultaneously. Visitors could experience fast downloads, Internet-based TV and movie viewing, and watch online videos without waiting for buffering.

The exhibition gave the general public, businesses and educational institutions the opportunity to interact and experience the many applications enabled by “true broadband”. A number of practical applications and products that could best be delivered through the availability of real broadband would be showcased, and these ranged from healthcare teleconferencing applications, to gaming, and home and office products.

Seacom said that a number of students would be transported to visit the exhibition, as it offered a learning experience for those interested in what the future of telecommunications. It demonstrated how it could enable southern Africa and the rest of the continent to truly participate and contribute in the unprecedented developments brought about by the advance of online connectivity.

“A lot has been said in South Africa about the dawn of better, faster and cheaper connectivity but it is often difficult to explain what true broadband actually is and how it translates beyond traditional Internet usage. Through this exhibition, Seacom and its partners wanted to offer the public a taste of the many things possible through unlimited broadband and we are positive that the range of applications and services on display will offer everyone a glance into the future of telecommunications,” said Herlihy.

Convergence Partners chairperson Andile Ngcaba emphasised that not only did the African continent hunger for International content and collaboration, but people abroad wanted to see African content online, and the Seacom cable would enable this.

Convergence Partners holds a 12,5% stake in the Seacom cable.

“High-speed networks are becoming part of the basic infrastructure of any country, and are vital to good Internet connectivity and access to broadband, which in turn will be key to the success of our telemedicine, education and safety and security solutions in South Africa,” added Cisco South Africa MD Steve Midgley.

Cisco was demonstrating its HealthPresence technology at the exhibition, as the company said that improved collaboration among health workers, greater facility for self-treatment, and patient involvement in primary care all served to optimise the performance of healthcare services, resulting in a healthier and economically stronger nation.

Neotel was featuring its home and office products, which brought voice, Internet and SMS capabilities to the user on a single account. “Seacom’s speed and capacity enhance the essential international component of our services," stated Neotel technology executive head Angus Hay.

Microsoft South Africa would use the exhibition primarily as a means to showcase two of its key technologies, namely unified communications, and the soon-to-be-launched Windows 7 operating system.

“Our unified communications offering takes advantage of increased bandwidth to offer video conferencing and integrated instant messaging opportunities that literally revolutionise the way we live and work,” said Microsoft South Africa information worker group head Albie Bester.

“Unified communications offers the ability to improve how individuals, groups and companies interact and perform. It also enables multiple communication channels to be coordinated. The additional capacity supplied by Seacom will allow us to accelerate the rollout of these technologies to clients in all industry sectors and allow them to access all the operational efficiencies and benefits offered by the world’s leading technologies, removing the infrastructure limitations we have struggled with before in trying to gain greater and more robust connectivity for our clients,” added Dimension Data Middle East and Africa chief technology officer Mayan Mathen.

Seacom was the first operational undersea fibre optics cable along the East coast of Africa. It was privately funded, and connected South Africa, Mozambique, Madagascar, Tanzania, and Kenya to India and Europe.