The Paratus Group subsidiary in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Fast Congo, announces that its 620-kilometre fibre-optic network link between Muanda on the West Coast and the capital, Kinshasa, is now active. The fibre link will deliver high-speed connectivity to the region through the Paratus Group’s pan-African network.

The fibre highway was originally installed and funded by the World Bank following which, last year, the DRC government entity, Société Congolaise de Fibre Optique (SOCOF) announced that Fast Congo had won the tender to deploy, operate and maintain the fibre link in an exclusive 15-year licence contract. Over the last few months, Fast Congo has been installing the necessary infrastructure to connect the network, which is now live and fully operational. 

By adding DRC to its network, Paratus Group now boasts a unique and contiguous footprint in Africa, which includes offices in seven SADC countries; five data centres (including the Google Equiano Cable landing station in Namibia); 6 000 VSAT terminals; an extended network through satellite connectivity-focused service in more than 37 African countries; and international points of presence (POPs) in the UK, Europe and the USA.

The inauguration event for the new DRC fibre route took place on 16 March in Kinshasa. It was attended by several delegates from the DRC government, along with executives from Global Broadband Solutions (GBS) and Paratus Group.

Speaking at the event, Paratus Group CEO Schalk Erasmus said: “This is a major milestone in delivering high-quality and high-capacity network services in the DRC. We are uniquely placed to connect the country to Angola and Zambia and beyond through our network in southern Africa.”

GBS CEO, Hassan Yahfoufi, added: “The new network will unlock huge economic potential in the region. For the moment, we’re only offering wholesale connectivity solutions and this will enable other operators to offer high-speed fibre connectivity to businesses and consumers in the Democratic Republic of Congo, providing them with limitless opportunities to connect with anyone across the continent and globally.”