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MTN Group is pleased to announce the successful landing of the West Africa Cable System (WACS) in South La, Accra - Ghana. The WACS cable, which is expected to go commercial in first quarter 2012, has 15 terminal stations along route and is the first ultra high capacity submarine cable system deploying next generation technology which connects Ghana [West Africa] to Europe northward and southbound connecting along the continental coast terminating in South Africa. This system will function to reduce the cost of connecting the West coast of Africa into the high-speed global telecommunications network. Following this feat, millions of MTN subscribers across the continent are getting closer to receiving a broadband windfall upon completion of the project. Spanning a distance of over 14,500 kilometer, WACS employs next generation technology to produce a minimum design capacity of 5.12 terabits per second (Tbps). It also enables seamless connectivity between countries in Southern and West Africa, with the rest of Europe, America and the East. MTN�s investment in WACS forms part of its ownership in a network of submarine cables which Africa�s leading telecommunications provider has invested in an attempt to bring the much-needed broadband capacity to the continent. MTN is committed to support in bolstering Africa�s efforts in achieving the United Nations Millennium Development Goals aimed at bridging the digital divide by providing millions of its footprint across Africa with the capacity to use smart telecommunications solutions to foster the enrichment of people�s lives. Michael Ikpoki, Chief Executive Officer of MTN Ghana, says �it is now time for Africa, and for that matter Ghana, to leverage the growth prospects of this fast growing industry to help speed up her socio-economic development, exploring the vast opportunities that broadband brings; be it high-speed connection to the Internet, telemedicine, video conferencing and several others�. Mr Ikpoki said, �The provision of cost effective access to broadband is taking an increasingly important role within MTN and we have positioned ourselves strategically to provide world class services to all our valued customers.� He added, �MTN shares these ideals of development and business and we remain a committed partner to Africa�s socio-economic development�. The initial equipped capacity of WACS shall be over 500 Gbps and is upgradable at any stage of the system�s 25-year long design life span. The system design is future-proved enabling incorporation of the latest developments in submarine fibre-optic transmission technology. In addition to complementing existing high-bandwidth cable systems in the region, WACS provides first time fibre connectivity to several African countries. WACS will also provide much needed diversity for large volumes of broadband intra-continental traffic and for traffic between Africa and Europe. WACS will open access for faster connectivity to support innovative IP-based services such as video applications for e-education, e-commerce and healthcare (telemedicine). It will further reduce the digital divide, enabling the landing countries to be served with a new system which will offer greater capacity and eventually lower the cost of broadband access. With commercial service expected in 2012, this new submarine cable system will also offer route diversity along with high bandwidth availability. MTN is the single biggest investor in WACS, with an investment of over $90 million. MTN is deploying additional capital deployment towards its aggregated construction of its four MTN managed Cable Landing Station. MTN is the only investor which constructs and operates four Cable Landing Stations (Ghana, Cote d�Ivoire, Nigeria, Cameroon), making MTN the single largest investor in WACS. The total project cost will not exceed $650 million.