Telecommunications firm Paratus Group has announced its expansion into the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

This coincides with the news that Paratus has won, together with DRC based Global Broadband Solution (GBS), a government tender to activate a 620-kilometre fibre-optic network link between Muanda, on the West Coast, to DRC capital city, Kinshasa.

Paratus and GBS have established FAST Congo to deliver, operate and maintain the network link in an exclusive 15-year license contract.

Paratus Seeks to Connect Africa

By adding DRC to its terrestrial network, Paratus Group claims it can now boast a unique and contiguous footprint in Africa, which includes offices in seven SADC countries, four Data Centers, five satellite teleports with 6,000 customer sites, the Google Equiano Cable landing station in Namibia, an extended network through satellite connectivity-focused service in more than 30 African countries, and international points of presence (PoPs) in UK, Europe and the USA.

Earlier this week, the DRC fibre link deal with FAST Congo was officially signed and announced by SOCOF (Societe Congolaise de Fibre Optique), the government entity established to develop telecommunications infrastructure and equipment in the DRC.

Paratus formed a consortium with GBS to create a strategic public-private partnership with SOCOF to activate, operate and maintain the fibre highway that was installed and funded by The World Bank.

The network spans the railway line between Muanda and Kinshasa which, en route, takes in six towns.

“This is an extremely important strategic development for Paratus. We are not only uniquely qualified to open this fibre 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.

“This presents great potential for the region’s economy and for quality connections and increased capacity to be offered as standard to businesses and consumers alike. We are very proud to be the lead company in making this happen.”


Edited by Luis Monzon
Follow Luis Monzon on Twitter
Follow IT News Africa on Twitter

Sign Up for Our Newsletters

Get notified of the best deals on our WordPress themes.

You May Also Like

Nokia Kenya Dodges a $260,000 Fine in Service Centre Contract Feud

A Kenyan court has reportedly rejected a petition filed by Kenyan dealer TechnoService which is seeking Sh150-million ($257,832.60) from cellphone manufacturer Nokia for allegedly selling some of its businesses to…
View Post

HPE South Africa Announces Two New Leadership Appointments

On Friday, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) South Africa, a multinational technology company, announced two new appointments to the country’s leadership team. Michael Langeveld is appointed as Chief Technology Officer, and…
View Post

Top 5 Games to Look Out for in 2022

Gamers have a lot to look forward to in 2022 – what with the release of many highly anticipated titles and DLCs across all platforms. Whether you enjoy journeying through…
View Post

UBA & Cellulant Join Forces to Unite Africa’s Payments Ecosystem

Nigeria’s United Bank for Africa (UBA), and Cellulant, a leading Pan-African payments company, have announced a partnership that will extend payment services for merchants and consumers across 19 key African…
View Post

You Can Now Split Bills On Uber Eats

Uber announced on Wednesday that customers will now be able to split the bill when making a group order on their food delivery app, Uber Eats. It will be the…
View Post

Vodacom & Accenture Join Forces for Bespoke Cybersecurity

South African telco Vodacom and Ireland-based IT services company Accenture have partnered to launch Vodacom Managed Security services through Vodacom Business. The partnership was publically announced yesterday via press release.…
View Post