Pan-African network operator Paratus Botswana, part of the Paratus Group, said it will invest US$6m in independent fibre connectivity to add to its existing infrastructure backbone.

The company is following an ongoing trend in Africa to strengthen telecommunications infrastructure as COVID-19 related lockdowns force more people online and demand for network capacity increases.

Paratus says the latest development is further progress on its fibre rollout strategy, a focus over the past two years, with the central objective to connect local businesses and industries.

Diversity is achieved via an independent single network that guarantees enough capacity on multiple routes, which in turn, ensures minimum latency and downtime, the operator stated.

Shawn Bruwer of Paratus Botswana.

Paratus Botswana MD, Shawn Bruwer added: “A quality connection is no longer a ‘nice to have’. We already have a 100% independent microwave network and international connection and now the fibre to bolster the increasing bandwidth and uptime requirements for businesses on our diverse and independent network. Our fibre roll-out, which is 98% complete, adds an attractive additional layer to our services enabling us to deliver unlimited bandwidth and uninterrupted services - no matter the environmental pressures we operate under.”

Another reason for the fibre investment, according to a statement by the company, is to reinforce the country’s ambition to cement Botswana as a key tech hub in the Southern African region.

Said Bruwer, “We recognise the forward thinking of the Government’s ‘Botswana Vision 2036’ and its aim to transform Botswana from an upper middle-income country to a high-income country by 2036.”

In February the MD penned a thought leadership piece and emphasised the advantages gained by enterprises by engaging with a single network provider.

He said: “Businesses today must think differently on many levels.We have several enterprise customers who see the value to their business of a single service provider because they have a single point of contact, full accountability and a set of guarantees that would be impossible to achieve with multiple service providers. When considering an independent network, one needs to ensure they guarantee enough capacity on multiple diverse routes to accommodate a host of services from a single network – one that is secure and backed up by robust infrastructure to guarantee uptime.”

The Paratus Group has presence in six African countries - Angola, Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Zambia - and the business’s extended network provides a satellite connectivity-focused service in 28 African countries.