My story on the new fiber optic cable connecting East Africa to the world went up today on GlobalPost:

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania — Ramadhan Mubarak shook his head as he gestured to his six forlorn PCs.

“I believe that many people want to use the internet,” he said. “But most Tanzanians are poor, so they can’t manage the cost.”

Mubarak owns two of the handful of internet cafes in downtown Dar es Salaam, and he can barely cover his overhead of $1,500 a month. Like many people here, he’s hoping that will soon change: East Africa’s new fiber-optic cable has been laid across the Indian Ocean and made landfall here on July 23. When it goes into use in late August, it is likely to dramatically reduce costs and improve connectivity speed. Continue reading…