Paratus Group has launched “Paratus 500” as it becomes what it believes to be the first Pan-African telecommunications network services provider to cover 500-million people south of the equator.
The group has expanded into seven additional African markets earlier this year, including Eswatini, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe, so it is now licensed to operate in 15 African countries, representing over one-third of Africa’s population and GDP.
With Paratus 500, the group can connect its 15 licensed operations with a contiguous telecom network across its portfolio. This infrastructure spans diverse terrestrial fibre routes, strategic subsea cable landings and advanced satellite integration, including Starlink, ensuring secure scalable and high-quality connectivity across sub-equatorial Africa.
Paratus 500 includes the East West Connect route which stretches from the east coast of Africa in Maputo, through Johannesburg and across Botswana and Namibia, to the west coast of Africa at the Equiano Cable Landing Station in Swakopmund. The Group operates five satellite teleports and maintains nearly 10 000 active satellite services, delivering dependable service across every operating market.
Strategic routes include connections from Johannesburg to Lubumbashi in southern DRC, crossing through Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana. In Botswana, Paratus has deployed a diverse fibre network via multiple towns to strengthen national reach and cross border stability.
Subsea cable systems are a key component of the Paratus 500 ecosystem with international landing points from Angola (Luanda), DRC (Kinshasa), France (Marseilles), Kenya (Nairobi), Lisbon (Portugal), London (UK), Mozambique (Maputo), Namibia (Windhoek), South Africa (Pretoria) and Tanzania (Dar es Salaam) delivering direct access to global internet hubs. Paratus also connects across the Atlantic to Brazil (Fortaleze), the US (Miami and New York), Netherlands (Amsterdam) and the UK (London).
The Paratus Express Route, powered by the Equiano subsea cable, delivers the lowest latency international connectivity from Johannesburg and Namibia to Europe and the US, offering up to 20-times more capacity than previous West Coast cables.
Strengthening its regional reach yet further, Paratus has integrated LEO (low earth orbit) satellite services into its offering. This technology enhances coverage and ensures consistent connectivity in underserved and remote areas where terrestrial infrastructure is scarce or unavailable.
Schalk Erasmus, CEO of Paratus Group, comments: “With Paratus 500, we now have the most coverage under licence in sub-equatorial Africa, a goal we have worked towards for many years. This milestone enables us to connect people and businesses across the region with reliable, high-quality network services. Our continued investment in fibre, satellite and strategic partnerships empowers us to deliver scalable connectivity solutions to wholesale, enterprise and individual customers – providing the freedom to connect anywhere, anytime.”