Seacom announces partnership in Rwanda

Rwandatel will become the first Rwandan company to connect to the undersea cable Undersea fibre-optics cable operator Seacom, on Tuesday announced a partnership with Rwandatel and Uganda Telecom (UTL) which extended the reach of international broadband capacity from the coast across Eastern Africa. Subsidiaries of the Libyan Africa Portfolio LAP Green Networks, UTL and Rwandatel have each purchased international broadband capacity from Seacom, while Seacom has in turn secured a backhaul solution for Rwanda on the two regional players’ terrestrial networks between Kampala, in Uganda and Kigali, in Rwanda. Under the terms of the partnership agreement, both entities have immediate access to the Seacom network. Uganda has been connected to the Seacom network since the cable’s commercial launch on July 23, but the agreement meant that Rwanda would benefit from the newly available broadband capacity by September, the company said. “From the outset of this project, we realised the importance of connecting inland countries to our international network and today’s agreement is testimony of our commitment in that regard,” noted Seacom CEO Brian Herlihy. “Many countries set out to deploy terrestrial networks to benefit from the arrival of the international bandwidth connectivity Seacom brought with it. With more and more countries getting connected to the rest of the world through the Seacom system, we are eagerly awaiting to see the direct socio-economic benefits this will have on the entire region,” Herlihy added. Seacom said it realised the importance of ensuring that Kigali and the greater Rwanda were connected as soon as possible to the international global network. Seacom’s purchase of the UTL and Rwandatel’s backhaul solution guaranteed that Rwanda would be connected immediately. “In line with our strategy to extend connectivity to the population, and in anticipation of the arrival of affordable international bandwidth, Rwandatel took major steps in developing its infrastructure. We are excited about our deal with Seacom and look forward to delivering affordable broadband to our customers,” said Rwandatel CEO Patrick Kariningufu. LAP Green Networks said it had a strong focus on international data connectivity - an approach shared by Uganda Telecom and other regional players looking to achieve first mover advantage in their respective markets. “The capacity purchase by Uganda Telecom on the Seacom network will dramatically modify the local Internet market and we look forward to a new era of true broadband across the region,” commented LAP Green Networks and Uganda Telecom MD AbdulBaset Elazzabi. LAP Green Networks is a telecommunications operator owned by Libyan African Investment Portfolio and focused on the acquisition and management of telecommunications networks across Africa. Ends

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Seacom announces partnership in Rwanda