Seacom, the first majority African-owned, open access, undersea fibre optics cable linking southern and east Africa to India and Europe, bringing high-speed international broadband connectivity.

Projects of this nature are notorious for encountering delays and failing to deliver on promises. But not the privately-funded Seacom, which switched on only a month later than scheduled - interrupted only by pirate activity off the Somali coast.

So how did it all happen?
The extensive marine survey, including impact assessments, route mapping, and pre-engineering work, done by Tyco Telecommunications, was completed by October 2007. This planning phase was instrumental as timing and logistics were key.

In November 2007, Seacom and Tyco started the construction contract. Three ships were deployed simultaneously to bury the fibre optics cable, the largest ship, starting in South Africa, was the Tyco Resolute.

The ships used a dynamic positioning system to ensure the cable was laid exactly where it should be. Thousands of kilometres of cable was rolled out as the ships made their journey.

Meanwhile, smaller branch cables were laid from terminal stations on the coast, extending about three kilometres offshore. The large fibre deploying ships stopped to pick up the branch cables off the sea floor, and connect them to the main cable. A grappling hook was used to pick up the branch cable, and bring it on board. It was then brought in to the ships laboratory where engineers spliced it to the main cable.