State-run telecommunications company Djibouti Telecom has begun construction of a new cable landing station to be completed by April 2022.

The company said it has two existing cable landing stations and has started construction of a new cable landing station in Djibouti City in order to meet an increasing demand for network resiliency.

The new cable landing station is intended to serve as a neutral digital port that will provide an open access cable landing service to submarine cable operators for a neutral, safe and secure landing in Djibouti City.

The company added that the new building will feature three floors, each with a 250 square metre equipment room designed with the latest technology offering operating efficiency and security to host multiple cables.

The station will be equipped with advanced security equipment, techniques and procedures to control access to the premises and that the third floor will be reserved for colocation.

According to the company the neutral colocation centre will allow cloud providers to host their servers closer to their African users.

Over the past decade, , the company said it has invested over US$200-million in new submarine cables and terrestrial networks to deal with the explosion of internet traffic in Africa, which it said is increasing tenfold every five years.

With a network comprising eight operational subsea cables and five on-project cable systems, the company said it is positioned as a centre for telecommunications services in East Africa.

Djibouti Telecom director general Mohamed Assoweh Bouh said, “With the new station under construction, Djibouti Telecom is building a real digital platform for the region. Today, Djibouti is a real African hub for internet traffic.”