At AfricaCom 2019, leading pan-African telecoms group Liquid Telecom has launched the fastest direct land-based fiber link connecting East to West Africa. This breakthrough coast-to-coast digital corridor follows the completion of Liquid Telecom's new high-capacity fiber link running 2,600-kilometre (km) across the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
This expansion connects millions of DRC citizens and thousands of businesses to Liquid Telecom's 'One Africa' broadband network linking the African continent to the rest of the world. This will help to create a foundation for social mobility, economic diversification and private sector-led growth both in the DRC and more widely across Africa. It also underscores the company's commitment to bring high-speed connectivity to every African on the continent.
Until recently, no direct, land-based fiber network existed between East and West Africa. Network traffic between Kinshasa in the DRC and Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, for example, was routed via London. Liquid Telecom's East to West fiber link promises significantly reduced latency between major continents via Africa. It also meets the growing demand from global enterprises for fast, reliable, high-capacity and cost-effective communication across the southern hemisphere.
This new extension connects the DRC to neighboring Tanzania and Zambia with onward connectivity to Liquid Telecom's 'One Africa' broadband network fast approaching 70,000km. It is central to the company's vision to create a single fiber network spanning the entire African continent - North to South and East to West.
“Bringing major continents closer together via the most direct fiber link connecting East to West Africa via DRC is history in the making,” said Nic Rudnick, Group CEO, Liquid Telecom. “In 2018 Liquid Telecom launched direct land-based fiber link between Cape Town and Cairo and in July this year, we started work on connecting South Sudan to the rest of the continent. By connecting East to West Africa via DRC with a direct land-based fiber link, more African cities, more communities and more businesses will have access to reliable and faster internet connections than ever, and many for the first time. This will bring proven economic and social benefits throughout the country, including vastly improved healthcare, education, social welfare and trade as we continue to expand Liquid Telecom's 'One Africa' Broadband Network.”
Liquid Telecom's latest fiber expansion connects the company's network on the Atlantic coast at Muanda in the DRC, via Liquid Telecom's international subsea cable partners. It then runs directly East to Kinshasa and through the DRC onto Lubumbashi in the South, connecting with other cities in between, including Kikwit, Kananga and Kolwezi. The link then crosses the DRC border into Zambia, integrating there with Liquid Telecom's existing and rapidly expanding pan-African terrestrial fiber network.
