Napoleon Adok, director-general of National Communication Authority (NCA), speaks to representatives of Muya Fibre Construction Company at the site on Monday | Credit | NCA

The National Communication Authority has suspended the installation of fibre optic cables along the Juba-Rumbek road by a private company.

The regulatory body accused Muya Fibre Construction Company of violating the terms of the agreement.

According to the Director-General of NCA, the company was supposed to install the cables under the ground, but it instead opted for poles.

Napoleon Adok, who visited the construction site near Juba on Monday, also suspended the operations of the company until they rectify the mistake.

The NCA plans to connect Juba and other state capitals, through fibre optic – buried underground rather than on poles that it believes are not durable.

Adok who was visibly disappointed while speaking to the contractors said:

“I don’t want that mistake which was done on Juba to Nimule taking the fibre optic wires over the poles to repeat itself countrywide,” he told Eye Radio on Tuesday.

“Take for example, if any of the poles along Nimule road is knocked down like it happened last year, half of Juba and the whole country goes down. That is why I objected to repeat that mistake.”

Experts say fibre optics have become the predominant choice for Ethernet backbone infrastructure, high-speed internet services, and general data networking.