Corrective works start on Brazil fibre optic cable

Apr 24, 2015 News

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… after deal reached with local contractor, consortium
More than four months after Kaieteur News broke a story that the fibre optic cable from Brazil – intended

to link Government entities and provide internet connections – is in trouble, a deal has been made for corrective work to be carried out.
Government in a statement Tuesday said that rehabilitation of its fibre optic cable, from Lethem to Georgetown, has begun.
“The Office of the President (OP) has stated that Dax Contracting Services started rehabilitation work on the cable on April 19, and has estimated about six months for its completion.”
The E-Governance project is headed by Alexei Ramotar, son of President Donald Ramotar, and includes not only the fibre optic element but is part of a US$32M, three-component initiative to connect Government facilities along the Linden-Lethem road and the coastland, with internet access.
The other two components included a cable from Anna Regina, Essequibo Coast, through Georgetown to Moleson Creek, East Berbice, and a data centre with 54 towers that will create a wireless network. The data centre is completed and located in the compound of Castellani House, Vlissengen Road.
Contractors, because of the difficult terrain along the Linden-Lethem trail and technical issues with the integrity of the cable, ran into all sorts of problems with the cable from Brazil.
More than $1B has been spent on the cable component already.
Office of the President said that in September 2014 it received correspondence proposing the rehabilitation of the fibre optic cable component.

“The proposed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) outlined ‘at no cost’ to offer the Government of Guyana to have the fibre optic cable rehabilitated. The cable was reportedly 20% damaged, and the cost of rehabilitation was acquired from technical sources and estimated at US $28M by one source.”
OP said that in 2015, it approached Dax Contracting Services on its submission for its consideration of the MoU. It said that the entity represented a consortium and urged expedition with the negotiations of the MoU, and that OP discussed the content of the MoU with Dax Contracting Services as well as the fact that both parties agreed to further meetings, including those to provide technical and legal advice.
“Dax Contracting Services later met with the E-Governance project team to share information on the details of the original fibre optic cable construction, and also with the Attorney General’s Chambers to examine issues surrounding the consideration of the MoU,” it said.
By March 2015, OP, Dax Contracting Services and E-Governance Project Head, Alexei Ramotar, met and finalised aspects of the MoU, with the contracting services and OP agreed on the details.
OP said that it was agreed that there would be a 100% rehabilitation of the cable, according to international standards; maintenance would be provided for the life of the contracted period; maintenance works would be shared; and that Dax Contracting Services would be provided with an agreed upon number of pairs of fibres in the cable, which has twelve pairs.
The MoU was signed on March 18, 2015.
Government had announced that the connection would eventually allow for – in addition to connectivity – a range of services such as “E-Health” allowing for video consultation, and movement of information to and from health centres.
It was said that security will also benefit, as the project would allow quick transmission of information, including video and data among police stations. The project is also aimed at enabling the setting up of an “E-library” which would allow for access to textbooks and other teaching aids, via the internet.
The project had come in for scathing criticisms not only because it was being managed by the President’s son, but for the delays. The cable was identified as being crucial for the provision of internet services for the 90,000 laptops to poor families that Government intends to distribute in a special project.
In January, Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon, said that Government initially had two options to correct the cable – do it themselves or partner with others.
Government stopped short of saying that the fibre optic cable had collapsed. Rather, it described the project as being in a remedial stage.
Luncheon said several persons have been hauled before the courts for lending to the poor state of the project. He had admitted that around 2011 and 2012, it was recognized that significant failures had occurred in the cable-laying.
Guyana is committed to paying a Brazil internet company around US$76,000 a year for connectivity.
A Government source close to the project had informed Kaieteur News that there was continuous breakage to the cable along the way. There were criticisms that bad planning and poor implementation caused the problems. Physical works for the laying of cable began in April 2011, but poor weather conditions and the absence of appropriate equipment were cited for the slothfulness of contractors.
By way of the E-Governance network, it was the plan that all major Government facilities in the coverage areas would be connected via fibre optic and/or 4G wireless Cellular services.

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