The Paratus Group subsidiary in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Fast Congo, has announced that its 620-kilometer fibre optic network link between Muanda on the West Coast and the capital, Kinshasa, is now active.
The fibre link will deliver high speed connectivity to the region through the Paratus Group’s pan-African network.
The fibre highway was originally installed and funded by the World Bank following which, last year, the DRC government entity, Société Congolaise de Fibre Optique (SOCOF) announced that Fast Congo had won the tender to deploy, operate and maintain the fibre link in an exclusive 15-year license contract. Over the last few months, Fast Congo has been installing the necessary infrastructure to connect the network, which is now live and fully operational.
By adding DRC to its network, Paratus group now boasts a contiguous footprint in Africa, which include: offices in seven SADC countries; five data centres (including the Google Equiano Cable landing station in Namibia); 6 000 VSAT terminals; an extended network through satellite connectivity-focused service in more than 37 African countries; and international points of presence (PoPs) in the UK, Europe and the US.
The inauguration event for the new DRC fiber route took place on 16 March in Kinshasa.
Paratus Group CEO Schalk Erasmus says: “This is a major milestone in delivering high quality and high-capacity network services in the DRC. We are uniquely placed to connect the country to Angola and Zambia and beyond through our network in southern Africa.”