VOA标准英语2012--DRC Misses Deadline for High Speed Internet

 

DRC Misses Deadline for High Speed Internet

Officially, the Democratic Republic Congo is about four months behind schedule to connect to the West African Cable System (WACS). This is not the first time the DRC has missed out on a high speed Internet link.

As Internet user Didier Bobange tries to download a document at his local cybercafé in Kinshasa, he has plenty of time to reflect on his country's position in the cyberspace¹ race.

"So we don't know how long we wait for it to come…you know. I was in Benin Republic 10 years ago and the connection [there] was far better than we have here today in Kinshasa," recalled Bobange.

High speed Internet would be a blessing² for Congo's businesses, researchers and even doctors who could make long distance diagnoses. It's past time they had it, says Laurent Ntumba, founder³ of the local Internet service provider Microcom.

"There are many [fiber⁴ optic] cables in Africa. There are maybe seven or eight, and we're not connected. It's unacceptable," said Ntumba.

In fact, he says, a fiber optic link between Muanda on the DRC's Atlantic coast and Kinshasa could have been switched on years ago.

"The cable from Muanda to Kinshasa [has] already [been installed] underground three years now - we can use it," added Ntumba.

But they cannot connect to the international line until the government has given permission, paid its dues to the cable consortium and builds a landing station at the coast. And, that is taking some time. It was a similar story in other countries, but the Congo has taken the longest time.

The immediate⁵ reason why the Congo is not linked to WACS is that the cable landing station was not built to the right standards. Local media report that the company contracted to build it had never done this kind of job before.

They also report that $3 million of government funds for the contract went missing last year and the former director-general of the national telecoms company, SCPT, was charged with high treason and jailed for three months in connection with the affair.

The scandal came to light after SCPT employees protested plans to create a private company, Congo Cable, to manage fiber optic connections.

Jean Paul Kamalata, a union representative for the telecoms sector⁶, says this is unacceptable to cut out SCPT employees from the future revenues when they are already owed years in back pay. He also told said that the union has other valid⁷ concerns.

Kamalata says he campaigned against the plan to create Congo Cable because he believes international telecom links are vital to a country's security and you cannot entrust⁸ a country's security to a private company.

The government seems to have dropped the idea of creating a new company to manage the cable.

Microcom's Ntumba thinks it was not a bad idea in principle. He says the SCPT will need competent private sector partners to install and maintain the fiber optic network.

"Managing the cable is not something easy. You need to have the knowledge, you need all the support, and I don't know if the SCPT has this level of competence," Ntumba explained.

Ntumba is also doubtful about the government's plan for the next stage, which is to lay 2,000 kilometers of cable from Kinshasa to Lubumbashi in the southeast corner of the country. He suggests it would be quicker and cheaper to connect Lubumbashi to Zambia's fiber optic cable, and other eastern cities to cables from Rwanda and Uganda. The money saved could be spent on laying connections within big cities.

But many Congolese would oppose the idea of connecting eastern cities via Rwanda, a country that was at war with the DRC from 1998 to 2003.

The current director general of the SCPT, Placide Mbatika, said that deals have already been signed with Ex-Im Bank China and a Chinese contractor⁹ to lay the 2,000 kilometer cable, although there will still be a need for investors¹⁰ for subsequent phases.

Mbatika says the country is open to all investors for the fiber optic program. He says that thanks to President Joseph Kabila's intervention¹¹, SCPT now has political backing, competent management and a committed workforce¹². He predicts that the first phase of the project, landing the cable and connecting it to Kinshasa, will be finished by the end of August.

Local media say that any further delays could jeopardize¹³ the Congo's chances of hosting the next summit of French speaking countries, scheduled to be held in Kinshasa in October.

1 cyberspace   

n.虚拟信息空间，网络空间，计算机化世界

参考例句：

• She travels in cyberspace by sending messages to friends around the world.她利用电子空间给世界各地的朋友们发送信件。
• The teens spend more time in cyberspace than in the real world of friends and family.青少年花费在电脑上的时间比他们和真正的朋友及家人在一起的时间要多。

2 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。

3 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

4 fiber   

n.纤维，纤维质

参考例句：

• The basic structural unit of yarn is the fiber.纤维是纱的基本结构单元。
• The material must be free of fiber clumps.这种材料必须无纤维块。

5 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

6 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

7 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？

8 entrust   

v.信赖，信托，交托

参考例句：

• I couldn't entrust my children to strangers.我不能把孩子交给陌生人照看。
• They can be entrusted to solve major national problems.可以委托他们解决重大国家问题。

9 contractor   

n.订约人，承包人，收缩肌

参考例句：

• The Tokyo contractor was asked to kick $ 6000 back as commission.那个东京的承包商被要求退还6000美元作为佣金。
• The style of house the contractor builds depends partly on the lay of the land.承包商所建房屋的式样，有几分要看地势而定。

10 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

11 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

12 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

13 jeopardize   

vt.危及，损害

参考例句：

• Overworking can jeopardize your health.工作过量可能会危及你的健康。
• If you are rude to the boss it may jeopardize your chances of success.如果你对上司无礼，那就可能断送你成功的机会。