Liquid Telecom has completed its build of the East Africa Fibre Ring. The fibre ring now connects into Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania and back into Kenya; creating the first fully redundant regional fibre ring, connecting these countries to each other and the rest of the world. The completion of the project is expected to ensure that businesses across the East African community now receive a stable and reliable service.
The East Africa Fibre Ring will ensure that Liquid Telecom customers are not be affected by fibre cuts, which have troubled users in Burundi, DRC, Uganda, and Rwanda up until to now. Network outages will no longer cause long periods of down-time when businesses cannot connect to the internet. In the event of a fibre cut, internet traffic is automatically re-routed around the ring, giving consistent and stable high speeds and continuous up time for businesses and their customers, ensuring business continuity across the region.
Nic Rudnick, CEO of the Liquid Telecom Group, said: “This is a historic service improvement for the people and businesses of east Africa, especially those in Rwanda, DRC, Burundi and Uganda, who will not have experienced such reliable internet previously. This pioneering achievement will add value to east African businesses and enable online trade within the East African community and globally, with reliable connectivity comparable to anywhere else in the world.
“Customers will immediately start to feel the benefits from our $20 million investment in the region. The completion of the East Africa Fibre Ring takes us another step towards building Africa’s digital future and giving better value for everyone using our network”.
The fibre ring forms part of Liquid Telecom’s Pan-African fibre network, spanning more than 17,000km, across country borders and connecting areas where no fixed network has existed before. The completion of the ring is just the latest in a series of major achievements for Liquid Telecom
Amb. Dr. Richard Sezibera, Secretary General of the East African Community (EAC), the regional intergovernmental organisation of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda, said: “This is a huge milestone for East Africa. By providing our nations with a 21st century broadband network that directly connects us to each other and the outside world, Liquid Telecom continues to help the economic development of our region. I deeply admire, commend and give thanks to the company for their ongoing commitment, investment and resolve in creating a fibre ring of this scale.”
