Sao Tome, September 26, 2018 – Equatorial Guinea’s Gestor de Infraestructura de Telecomunicaciones (GITGE) and Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN) have landed today the Ultramar GE submarine cable system linking Sao Tome, in Sao Tomé et Principe, to the island of Annobon in Equatorial Guinea with the Ile de Sein cableship. This unrepeatered system will contribute to boost connectivity and high speed telecommunications capacity in the African continent, relieving the island’s dependence on satellite technologies.

Oscar Ondo Ngomo Nchama, General Director of GITGE, said: “Our efforts are focused on expanding connectivity and increasing the adoption of modern technologies in Equatorial Guinea. The completion of this system, an example of regional cooperation in development, will bring benefits in greater speeds and bandwidth that will contribute to the digital inclusion of the island of Annobon.”

Philippe Piron, President of Alcatel Submarine Networks, said: “Following the ACE and CEIBA 1 projects, we are delighted to assist GITGE reinforce Equatorial Guinea telecom infrastructure providing the people of Annobon the mean to be connected to the rest of the world with ultimate performance and reliability in such a remote location.”

ABOUT GITGE

GITGE, an entity from the Ministry of Transport, Technology, Postal Services and Telecommunications of Equatorial Guinea, is the Country Telecommunications Infrastructure Manager, responsible for comercializing and operating the submarine and terrestrial fiber networks. GITGE operates today the ACE submarine cable landing in Equatorial Guinea, as well as the Ceiba-1 (Malabo – Bata) and Ceiba-2 (Malabo, Bata and Kribi) submarine cable networks connecting Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon. GITGE has also signed an agreement with the SAIL Consortium to acquire capacity in the SAIL subamrine cable from Kribi (Cameroon) to Fortaleza (Brazil), addding an additional landing station to SAIL in Bata (Equatorial Guinea).

ABOUT ALCATEL SUBMARINE NETWORKS

Alcatel Submarine Networks, part of Nokia, leads the industry in terms of transmission capacity and installed base with more than 600,000 km of optical submarine systems deployed worldwide, enough to circumnavigate the globe 15 times. From traditional telecom applications to infrastructure for content and “Over The Top” service providers, as well as solutions for offshore oil and gas applications, ASN provides all elements of turnkey global undersea transmission systems, tailored to individual customer’s needs. An extensive service portfolio completes its comprehensive offering for the submarine business, including project management, installation and commissioning, along with marine and maintenance operations performed by ASN’s fully owned fleet of cable ships.

ALCATEL SUBMARINE NETWORKS Press Contacts

Francesca Cazzaniga francesca.cazzaniga@asn.com T : +33 (01) 60 40 11 96