Paratus Namibia, formerly known as Nimbus Infrastructure and traded on the Namibian Stock Exchange, is building a 620-kilometer fiber-optic network to connect Muanda on the West Coast to Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The government has hired Paratus and DRC-based Global Broadband Solution (GBS) to build the network link.
Fast Congo is the entity through which the joint venture will deliver, operate, and maintain the network link under an exclusive 15-year licensing deal.
Linking Afrika
Paratus has been on a campaign to weave communication networks across the continent. Paratus and Telecom Namibia inked an agreement in 2021 to make Paratus the landing party for Google's subsea cable, Equiano.
The initiative, which was started by Google, intends to connect Africa and Europe by constructing a subsea cable between Portugal and South Africa along Africa's west coast. Equiano cable uses modern technology to give about 20 times the network capacity of the last cable created to service this region, as well as the flexibility to expand and reallocate capacity as needed.
Paratus' satellite connectivity-focused services are now available in 22 African nations, with an extra 4000 satellite connections throughout the continent, thanks to the DRC expansion.
“This is an extremely important strategic development for Paratus. We are not only uniquely qualified to open this fiber highway in DRC, but we’re also uniquely placed to connect the country to Angola, Zambia, and beyond via our own network in the SADC,” adds Paratus Group CTO, Rolf Mendelsohn.
— By Bataung Qhotsokoane
