PARIS -- ACE, the Africa Coast to Europe submarine cable to be operational in the second half of 2012, landed today at the submarine cable station of Penmarc’h, Brittany. The 17,000 km cable provides broadband internet capacity in Africa, an additional layer of security for communications between Europe, Africa and Asia, and it will meet capacity requirements for years to come.

The ACE cable will provide access to the global broadband network for the first time for Gambia, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Liberia, Mauritania, Sao Tome and Principe, and Sierra Leone, making possible the launch of new services. Landlocked countries such as Mali and Niger will also be connected via the terrestrial network.

ACE will provide an alternative route for communications to countries already connected to the SAT3-WASC-SAFE cable linking Portugal to Malaysia, which runs along the west coast of Africa.

Through links to other submarine cables, ACE will also provide an alternative western route for traffic between Europe and Reunion as well as the Group’s subsidiaries in Africa and the Indian Ocean. ACE will also diversify transmission arteries between France and Portugal.

To carry out this ambitious project, France Telecom SA, together with its subsidiaries Côte d'Ivoire Telecom, Orange Cameroon, Orange Guinea, Orange Mali, Orange Niger and Sonatel, have combined forces with a number of other major partners as part of an international consortium.

Orange (NYSE: FTE)