Paratus Botswana, which positions itself as a leading telecommunications and network services provider, has commenced work on lighting a new fibre route, the SADC Highway, which will connect Gaborone in Botswana, through Zimbabwe, to Livingstone in Zambia. The first section in Botswana, which is from Gaborone to Plumtree, spans approximately 500km and is scheduled for completion in February 2025. The project is expected to drive improved rural network coverage as smaller providers capitalise on the reduced cost per megabit resulting from this initiative.

The SADC Highway forms part of the Paratus Group’s Southern Continental Agenda, and seamlessly integrates into the Paratus BKF (Botswana Kalahari Fiber) route launched earlier this year. It will deliver up to 11 terabits of potential new capacity to Zimbabwe and Zambia, providing critical redundancy for existing routes through South Africa. The route offers an alternative route to connect from the East to the West directly to the Equiano subsea cable at Swakopmund, in Namibia, via TKF, as well as a direct route South to the Teraco Data Center in Johannesburg. As an alternative to traditional routes via Beitbridge, the new SADC Highway is highly anticipated and will offer lower latencies and higher capacities for these markets. As Shawn Bruwer, Country MD of Paratus Botswana explains: “This is an attractive new route for Botswana as well as southern Africa. It is eagerly awaited, as witnessed by several operators already purchasing capacity.

“The SADC Highway also represents Paratus Botswana’s fourth fibre route: two into South Africa, one into Namibia and very soon, this new route into Zimbabwe and Zambia. This cements our position in southern Africa and Botswana as a communications hub, not only due to the geographic location, but also to the foresight by Paratus in addressing regional needs. It demonstrates the Paratus Group’s commitment to investment in Botswana and contribution to economic diversification in the country. The various routes now provide unsurpassed redundancy and diversity for the country.”

This investment by Paratus ensures that, on completion, the SADC Highway will deliver low-latency, high-quality connectivity across the continent and globally. By connecting to the Equiano subsea cable in Namibia, it will increase capacity, lower costs and stimulate economic growth in the region.

Bruwer adds: “This is another part of our ongoing investment in our network infrastructure to meet the growing demand for telecommunications services in the region. These investments align with our vision to connect more people across the continent with quality communications and network services.”