Liquid Telecom Rwanda has revealed that its FTTH service is now available to homes and businesses in Kigali.
With speeds of up to 100Mbps, Liquid Telecom is investing more than US$35 million laying Rwanda’s first FTTH network – and, according to the company, continues to recognise the country’s role as an Internet services hub for East and Central Africa. The FTTH build will continue in Kigali and will expand to other cities in the future.
Liquid Telecom’s FTTH is expected to reach 15 000 homes by the end of 2016. This is according to the company. The service will also be available from a number of MNOs and ISPs, using wholesale access from Liquid Telecom.
Liquid Telecom Rwanda also operates a nationwide fibre network with cross-border connectivity into all four neighbouring countries: Burundi, DRC, Tanzania and Uganda. International traffic is carried over Liquid Telecom’s pan-African network which then connects to the rest of the world via five subsea cables.
The company’s extensive investment into its network in Rwanda has helped position Rwanda as the ICT hub for the sub-region.
Sam Nkusi, Chairman of Liquid Telecom Rwanda, said “Our goal is to provide a true broadband network which will help our country grow and prosper – and bring 21st century entertainment and information to our people.”
At this week’s FTTH Council Africa 2015 conference taking place in Rwanda, Nic Rudnick, Group CEO of Liquid Telecom, provided details about the company’s progress in laying FTTH in other parts of Africa.
Liquid Telecom’s FTTH builds are currently taking place in Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe with more than 100km of new fibre laid every week.
The service is already live in Zambia and Zimbabwe with speeds of up to 100 Mbps available to homes and businesses.
All of Liquid Telecom’s fibre networks are operated as open-access networks available to wholesale carriers, operators of all sizes and ISPs that are Liquid Telecom resellers. Liquid Telecom’s open-access approach increases competition in the market and thereby improves customer service and price competitiveness.
Nic Rudnick said “Connecting premises with a fibre connection is the holy grail of the fixed telecoms marketplace. We are investing heavily so that Africans also enjoy the Internet speeds and services that other parts of the world now take for granted.
Our efforts are reducing reliance on slower last mile connectivity solutions such as ADSL links, WiMAX and cellular services, which offer lower speeds especially when congested.
We are making accessing streamed, high-definition media, educational content, business tools and entertainment packages via the Internet a reality for households and businesses of all sizes in Africa.”
Editor: Darryl Linington
