Pan-African telecommunications services provider Seacom has launched new Points of Presence in Botswana and Rwanda.

The company has partnered with local providers in both countries, including Botswana ISP Abari Communications and Rwandan ISP Broadband Systems Corporation.

According to Seacom, both countries historically relied on costly international connectivity via satellite or transit from their neighbouring countries due to their status as landlocked countries.

This changed with the launch of the Seacom submarine cable in 2009 on the east coast of Africa and the subsequent development of national fibre backbones.

Competition is also said to have increased and the price of bandwidth has fallen - in the case of Botswana, by 70% in the past five years.

"Rwanda has a population of 12 million people and is one of the fastest growing economies in the world with an investor-friendly business environment. However, telecoms infrastructure remained underdeveloped and prices high until a few years back. Rwanda completed a rollout of national fibre infrastructure relatively quickly, but connectivity to neighbouring countries and the coast took longer because it involved coordination with several third parties," reads a statement issued by Seacom.

Rwanda now has multiple routes to a number of submarine cables.

"Botswana has a population of just 2 million people. After a period of stagnation, the number of internet users has climbed in recent years, largely as a result of lower prices following improvements in international connectivity. Regulatory reform has turned the country's telecom market into one of the most liberalised in the region," the company adds.

Botswana now has access to several submarine cables on both the east and west coasts of Africa.

With the new Seacom IP Point of Presence in Gaborone, Botswana has the same access to the Seacom service provider product set as Johannesburg.