Liquid Dataport, a pan-African technology group, today announced the launch of the first terrestrial fibre connecting Mombasa to Johannesburg.
This new route, including a breakthrough and unique fibre link across the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) between Goma and Kananga, provides multiple landlocked countries with extra redundancy, resilience, connectivity to numerous data centres and cloud resources, and, most significantly, an alternative option in the event of a subsea cable outage between Kenya and South Africa.
“Cassava Technologies is committed to making digital inclusion a reality on the African continent. This milestone achieved by Liquid Dataport reiterates our commitment to a digitally connected future that leaves no African behind through our continuous investments towards improving and expanding our digital infrastructure. This route will not only bring increased access to high-speed connectivity but will also improve lives and allow businesses to create and sustain millions of jobs,” says Hardy Pemhiwa, President and Group CEO of Cassava Technologies.
The exponential demand for connectivity directly results from the increasing adoption of digital technologies by enterprises across the continent. Consequently, there is an urgent need for service providers and international carriers like Liquid Dataport to cater to this growing demand seamlessly.
This route that will connect South Africa, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Zambia, Zimbabwe and the DRC is yet another testament to Liquid Dataport’s commitment to improving access to digital services for everyone in Africa dramatically.
Commenting on the launch of this new route, David Eurin, CEO of Liquid Dataport, said that this is the first terrestrial-only cable connecting Mombasa to Johannesburg via DRC.
“It is the result of our significant fibre infrastructure investments in several countries, including Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, DRC, Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa. With this new route, we are able to provide our existing and future customers access to an intelligent network with increased resilience and low latency. It not only provides redundancy but was designed to provide additional capacity to the landlocked countries on the route with direct access to cloud resources on the African continent and beyond”.
This route offers hyperscalers, enterprises and wholesale carriers direct connectivity to data centres in Johannesburg and Nairobi.
Investments on the Equiano sea cable and significant capacity on the PEACE and 2Africa undersea fibre cables together with its extensive terrestrial cross-border fibre brodband network ensures that Liquid’s customers benefit from low-cost international capacity landing on both the Kenyan and South African shores wherever they need it on the Continent.
The launch of the Liquid Dataport terrestrial data superhighway is a major milestone in the development of Africa’s digital infrastructure. It is a significant investment in the future of the continent and will help to bridge the digital divide.
Benefits of the Liquid Dataport Terrestrial Data Superhighway
The new route offers a number of benefits, including:
- Increased resilience: The new route provides multiple paths for data to travel, which can help to improve resilience in the event of a network outage.
- Reduced latency: The new route is shorter than the existing subsea cable route, which can help to reduce latency and improve the performance of online applications.
- Increased capacity: The new route has a capacity of 100 Gbps, which can help to meet the growing demand for bandwidth in the region.
- Improved connectivity: The new route will provide better connectivity to landlocked countries in the region, which can help to boost economic growth and job creation.
Impact of the Liquid Dataport Terrestrial Data Superhighway
The launch of the Liquid Dataport terrestrial data superhighway is a major step forward for Africa’s digital transformation. It is a significant investment in the future of the continent and will help to bridge the digital divide.
The new route is expected to significantly improve the availability and quality of internet access in the region, as well as boost economic growth and job creation.
In addition to the benefits listed above, the new route is also expected to:
- Facilitate the growth of e-commerce and online businesses
- Improve access to education and healthcare services
- Promote social inclusion and economic development
The launch of the Liquid Dataport terrestrial data superhighway is a major milestone for Africa’s digital future. It is an investment in the future of the continent and will help to bridge the digital divide.
