Liquid Intelligent Technologies and Orange has announced a new partnership to leverage each other’s existing networks in Africa.
The partnership will give Liquid access to Orange’s network in West Africa, including the new Djoliba network, and will give Orange access to Liquid’s pan-African network.
“We are excited about embarking on this partnership with Orange, becoming a major customer on Djoliba as we continue to grow our existing relationship,” says David Eurin, Liquid Intelligent Technologies international wholesale CEO (Liquid Sea). “We’ve long been committed to providing digital services that allow our customers to grow their businesses and the larger African economy.
“Partnering with a provider like Orange strengthens this offering. Our customers are the real winners in this partnership. Not only do they get access to the networks, but also the benefit of working with two carriers with proven track records of building African business and digital technology.”
Orange offers extensive submarine, terrestrial and satellite connectivity with 450 000km of submarine cables, 45 000km of fibre across Europe, the US, Africa and Asia, and more than 450 points of presence. In West Africa, Orange has a substantial presence across many countries including Cote d’Ivoire, Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Guinea and Liberia.
Djoliba is the first unified superfast broadband network in the region that provides seamless connectivity with better availability thanks to network redundancy, security and excellent quality of service.
Operated and maintained from Dakar, Senegal for greater efficiency, responsiveness and proximity, it has a dedicated supervision centre. Djoliba is also the first network to offer complete security in West Africa with more than 10 000km of terrestrial fiber optic network, coupled with 10 000km of undersea cables, superfast broadband provision (up to 100 Gbit/s) and a 99,99% availability rate.
The network covers 16 points of presence with a grid of nearly 155 technical sites and offers connections with Europe, America and Asia. It is based on Orange’s Tier 1 network and therefore provides a seamless connection to the Group’s international networks.
“I am very happy to announce this important partnership with Liquid Intelligent Technologies which will enable Orange to expand its broad portfolio of convergent solutions across Africa. It further demonstrates Orange’s commitment across Africa to deliver highly reliable connectivity to its customers. Furthermore, this partnership also clearly illustrates Orange’s unique expertise in cybersecurity and our crucial role in building a safer digital society,” says Emmanuel Rochas, CEO of Orange International Carriers.
The ‘One Africa’ network from Liquid has 100 000km of fiber backbone and covers most of sub-Saharan Africa. The network development plans include extending the organisation’s reach into the North African countries like Morocco, Libya, Tunisia, and Algeria.
“We already have access to Egypt and Morocco, but now we want to close the loop, thus ensuring that the entire continent has access to high-speed fiber connectivity,” says Eurin. “Our association with a provider like Orange fortifies the offering and supports the business demands of our growing continent. We view this partnership as a real game-changer for Africa.”