Mobile operator MTN and network services provider Liquid Telecom have announced a partnership to provide their respective customers with access to a broader fixed and wireless footprint.

In a statement to the media, the partnership is said to cover wholesale, carrier-to-carrier, high speed broadband, enterprise and fixed data services, and allows either company to access the other's fixed and wireless networks.

According to Liquid Telecom, the partnership is in response to the increasing demand from businesses across West Africa for the company's broadband service. "We have a well-deserved reputation in East, Central and Southern Africa, for providing quality broadband to businesses. We are laying 100km of new fibre every week, but have decided to partner for the time being in West Africa so that we can immediately meet demand from businesses there," says Nic Rudnick, chief executive officer of the Liquid Telecom Group.

The release adds that the partnership enables Liquid Telecom to offer businesses gigabit-speed services accompanied by negotiated SLAs and "consistently excellent 24/7 customer service".

The additional countries which Liquid Telecom will now have a presence in are Benin, Cameroon, Congo Brazzaville, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Guinea Republic, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Nigeria, Sudan, South Sudan and Swaziland.

The agreement with Liquid Telecom gives MTN the ability to service its multinational enterprise customers in Burundi, DRC, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.

MTN says the partnership reaffirms its commitment to enterprise customers across Africa.

"This partnership will provide great benefits to our customers. We will be able to leverage each other's products and services to improve our offerings to carrier and enterprise customers in Africa, the Middle East and Europe. In addition, we have the opportunity to offer our customers services beyond our footprint, thanks to the combined footprints of both companies, as well as those of our partners. Furthermore, this partnership reinforces our extensive service offerings in country and internationally," says Elia Tsouros, MTN's enterprise business unit head of global sales.

Liquid Telecom's fibre network spans 20 000km across Burundi, DRC, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe and is complemented by a satellite service for rural areas.

MTN's connectivity footprint features points of presence for its global MPLS network in 22 countries, including South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Djibouti, UK, Netherlands, Nigeria, Cameroon, Zambia, Uganda, Ghana, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Cyprus, Benin, Guinea Conakry, Congo Brazzaville, Angola, Mozambique, Namibia and Botswana.

The partnership enables both companies to provision networks with complex requirements faster and sell each other's wholesale, carrier, enterprise and fixed services on the combined network.