Cabo Verde Telecom announces tender for inter-island fibre project

State owned service provider Cabo Verde Telecom (CV Telecom) has announced an international public tender for replacing inter-island optical fibre, allowing broadband internet to be distributed throughout Cape Verde, a West African island state.

The new fibre will be 750 kilometres long and will replace segments that, the tenders says, “have reached the end of their useful life". The tender adds that the procurement is for the design, supply, and installation of six segments of a submarine cable system.

Press reports say the renovation aims to anticipate the deployment of 5G mobile networks on the islands and to respond to growing demand, ensuring that the network will be reliable.

Called CSII-4, the project is part of CV Telecom's Connectivity 2.0 investment package, and the opening of tenders is scheduled for 6 February next year. Sealed bids from eligible bidders are being invited for the design and engineering services, execution of a detailed cable route study, comprehensive marine surveys, provision of submarine and terrestrial cables, and oversight of the installation and testing phases.

Works are anticipated to commence in August 2025, with commissioning expected by June 2026.

The tender marks the start of "a series of structuring projects, co-financed by the European Investment Bank, with a budget of more than €80 million (about US$84.5 million", according to CV Telecom.

Cape Verde consists of ten volcanic islands with a combined land area of about 4,033 square kilometres housing an estimated population of 611,014.