Huawei Marine is partnering with PCCW Global to construct the first submarine cable between Mauritius and Rodrigues Island.

This is the 12th submarine cable system deployed by Huawei Marine in Africa.

Mike Constable, Chief Executive of Huawei Marine says the rollout of another submarine cable is a sign of confidence by the region in the company's expertise.

"We are excited by the PCCW Global partnership which will revolutionise the broadband infrastructure of Rodrigues by providing a step-change in high-speed internet connectivity and facilitate the growth of digital communications. This is the 12th submarine cable system we have deployed in the African region, which reinforces the confidence in our technology and robust network solutions to further enable the transformation of the region's digital economy."

Rodrigues is an island located north-east of Mauritius with its local telecommunications services currently provided by satellite connectivity.

PCCW Global has agreed with Mauritius Telecom to construct and maintain the high speed submarine cable connecting Rodrigues and Mauritius which will vastly improve connectivity for Rodrigues. The 700km submarine cable has a design capacity of 16Tbit/s.

Frederick Chui, Senior Vice President of Global Data Sales, PCCW Global says the submarine cable, scheduled for completion by end of 2019, will be used over the next 25 years.

"This project is very exciting for us because we are using our experience gained in designing, building, and maintaining submarine cables around the world to assist another service provider, in this case Mauritius Telecom, to commission their own fully-maintained cable investment. This completely eliminates any risk in the development, maintenance and operation of what might otherwise have been a technically daunting project."