Liquid Telecom will become the majority stakeholder of Tanzanian ISP Raha after having received regulatory approval for the acquisition from the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) on 8 December 2016.

The deal effectively makes Tanzania the latest market to be added to Liquid Telecom fibre network, which the company says spans over 40, 000km across 12 countries.

In its announcement Liquid Telecom says the acquisition provides its enterprise and wholesale customers with direct and faster access to Tanzania as well as to East, Central and Southern Africa.

Dar es Salaam-based Raha provides connectivity solutions, including fibre, satellite, WiMax and WiFi, to retail and enterprise customers.

The ISP operates WiMax and WiFi hotspots in over 150 locations including Arusha, Moshi, Mwanza, Mbeya and Tanga.

According to TCRA internet penetration in Tanzania has increased rapidly in recent years reaching 34% in 2015. Mobile subscriptions increased by more than 24% in 2015 to 39.8 million, while the number of internet users rose 52% year-on-year to reach 17.26 million last year.

Nic Rudnick, CEO, Liquid Telecom, said, "We are very pleased to announce that this transaction has received its final approval. The agreement enables Liquid Telecom to expand its footprint into Tanzania, a growing and dynamic African country."

"We are thrilled with this approval and look forward to being part of a pan-African connectivity movement," said Aashiq Shariff, CEO, Raha.

Liquid strategy

At AfricaCom 2016, held recently in Cape Town, Rudnick said the Neotel transaction was a key component of Liquid Telecom's Africa strategy, and the joint venture recently established with Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) and the formation of Liquid Telecom Botswana strengthened efforts to roll out fibre in that region.

Rudnick said the Neotel transaction was progressing well and is awaiting regulatory approval from the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA).