Liquid Intelligent Technologies and Orange have announced a new partnership to leverage each other's existing networks in Africa.

According to information released to the media, this partnership will give Liquid access to Orange’s extensive network in West Africa, including the new Djoliba network, and Orange access to Liquid’s pan-African network.

“As a result, the two organisations will offer end-to-end high-speed connectivity and services across their networks, allowing existing and new customers in over 20 African countries greater access and opportunity to build their businesses,” reads an excerpt from a statement released by the two telcos.

David Eurin, Liquid Intelligent Technologies international wholesale CEO (Liquid Sea), said, “We are excited about embarking on this partnership with Orange, becoming a major customer on Djoliba as we continue to grow our existing relationship. We've long been committed to providing digital services that allow our customers to grow their businesses and the larger African economy. Partnering with a provider like Orange strengthens this offering. Our customers are the real winners in this partnership. Not only do they get access to the networks, but also the benefit of working with two carriers with proven track records of building African business and digital technology.” In West Africa, Orange has presence across several countries including Cote d'Ivoire, Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Guinea and Liberia.

The companies describe Djoliba as “the first unified superfast broadband network in the region that provides seamless connectivity with better availability thanks to network redundancy, security and excellent quality of service.”

It is operated and maintained from Dakar, Senegal for greater efficiency, responsiveness and proximity and has a dedicated supervision centre.

Liquid and Orange add that Djoliba is also the first network to offer complete security in West Africa with more than 10,000km of terrestrial fibre optic network, coupled with 10,000km of undersea cables, superfast broadband provision (up to 100 Gbit/s) and a 99.99% availability rate.

“This network covers 16 points of presence with a grid of nearly 155 technical sites and offers connections with Europe, America and Asia. It is based on Orange's Tier 1 network and therefore provides a seamless connection to the Group's international networks,” they stated.

Emmanuel Rochas, CEO of Orange International Carriers, said, “I am very happy to announce this important partnership with Liquid Intelligent Technologies which will enable Orange to expand its broad portfolio of convergent solutions across Africa. It further demonstrates Orange’s commitment across Africa to deliver highly reliable connectivity to its customers. Furthermore, this partnership also clearly illustrates Orange's unique expertise in cybersecurity and our crucial role in building a safer digital society.”

The 'One Africa' network from Liquid has 100,000km of fibre backbone and covers most of Sub-Saharan Africa. The network development plans include extending the organization's reach into the North African countries like Morocco, Libya, Tunisia, and Algeria.

"We already have access to Egypt and Morocco, but now we want to close the loop, thus ensuring that the entire continent has access to high-speed fibre connectivity," said Eurin. “Our association with a provider like Orange fortifies the offering and supports the business demands of our growing continent. We view this partnership as a real game-changer for Africa.”

Rochas added, “The cybersecurity threat landscape has grown substantially in the last year, which is true globally, and the African continent is no exception.”