Africa focused technology group Liquid Intelligent Technologies has announced the roll out of high-speed connectivity to communities in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) using state-of-the-art Wireless Optical Communication technology (WOC) from Project Taara at X, Alphabet’s moonshot factory.

This achievement marks a robust high-capacity communications bridge between Kinshasa and Congo Brazzaville.

According to Liquid, despite being just 4.8km apart, internet is more expensive in Kinshasa than in Brazzaville.

“The reason being, the two cities are separated by the Congo River, the second fastest and deepest river in the world, making it difficult to lay fibre across it. Historically this had resulted in operators directing traffic through their respective cable landing stations over 400 km away to create high-capacity information flow between them.”

As part of a larger initiative to improve broadband access across Central Africa, Liquid has been trying to close this strategic connection over the river for over two years.

Now, using innovative technology from Project Taara’s Wireless Optical Communication links, Liquid was able to create this connection.

“This high-capacity link is expected to bring down the cost of broadband access for millions of people, and a second optical link provides redundancy and resilience to this critical segment of Liquid’s network,” the company adds.

In the same way traditional fibre uses light to carry data through cables in the ground, Taara’s Wireless Optical Communication links use narrow, invisible beams of light to deliver high-speed connectivity.

Capable of transmitting up to 20 Gbps each, Taara’s links across the Congo River will help the 17 million people in these cities have access to much faster and more reliable connectivity.

Nic Rudnick, Group CEO of Liquid Intelligent Technologies, said: “Our work with Taara has allowed us to use WOC technology to provide cost-effective, high-speed connectivity to the people in the two cities. Thus, ensuring that Liquid can enable economic prosperity by creating a connected future across the African continent despite the difficult terrain.”

Bhavesh Mistry, Head of Project Taara in Africa, added: “We’re delighted to be helping bring more affordable and reliable internet access to people in Kinshasa. Taara’s mission is to expand global access to fast, affordable internet and we’re proud to be supporting Liquid in their mission to close the connectivity gap between these two cities.”

Since early this year, despite the challenges faced due to the pandemic, Liquid has successfully brought high-speed connectivity across the DRC, a country that previously ranked 145th globally for internet access.

Working with international technology companies has enabled Liquid to extend high-capacity backbone on the continent, especially to its three East to West digital corridors.