The provinces are Cabinda, Zaire, Luanda, Cuanza Sur, Benguela and Namibe. Angola’s Council of Ministers have approved the project to improve TV and telephone services in the six provinces, choosing submarine cable as their means of delivery.

Angola Telecom will operate the new system, while Ericsson South Africa will construct the network, which is to be known as Adonis. There has been some criticism of the project as a whole, as some observers identify mobile technology as the way forward for Angola. In fact, mobile phone services are undergoing a real boom at present, while Angola Telecom itself has reported an 11% slump in fixed-line telephony.

• More info: www.angolatelecom.com