By John Oyuke
Seacom, a submarine fibre-optic cable operator has entered into partnership with operators in Uganda and Rwanda to extend its reach across Eastern Africa.
The firm said Uganda Telecom and Rwandatel SA, both subsidiaries of Libyan African Investment Portfolio, have purchased international broadband capacity from it.
In turn, it said, it has struck a deal to make use of the two regional players’ terrestrial networks between Kampala, Uganda and Kigali, Rwanda.
Seacom Chief Executive Brian Herlihy said under the terms of the partnership, both entities would have immediate access to the Seacom network. He said while Uganda has been connected to the Seacom network since its commercial launch on July 23, the agreement means Rwanda will benefit from the newly available broadband capacity as soon as next month.
Firm’s objective
"From the outset of this project, we realised the importance of connecting inland countries to our international network," Herlihy, noted in a statement.
He said the development is in line with Seacom’s objective to provide connectivity solutions to landlocked countries across the east and southern Africa.
Many countries had deployed massive terrestrial networks in anticipation of the arrival of affordable international bandwidth connectivity.
