Huawei plans to complete Guinea's $238M fiber optic network in 2017

Huawei plans to complete Guinea's $238M

fiber optic network in 2017

Tony Zhang, Director, Huawei Guinea. Credit: Bloomberg.com/Photographer: Waldo Swiegers

Huawei Technologies Co. plans to complete a $238 million fiber-optic network in bauxite-rich Guinea in 2017, according to Tony Zhang, the company’s director in the country.

China’s largest maker of networking equipment started laying down the 4,000 kilometers (2,485 miles) of 40 gigabyte-capacity cable on July 25, Zhang said in a Sept. 9 interview in Conakry, Guinea’s capital. The Export-Import Bank of China loaned the funds to pay for 90 percent of the project, while the West African nation’s government will provide the rest, he said.

“This project will give the people high-speed Internet access,” Zhang said. “It can help with microeconomic growth. The country has the needs.”