INTELLIGENT CABLING
Liquid lands capacity of subsea cable Equiano in Nigeria and South Africa
L iquid Intelligent Technologies , a business of Cassava Technologies , a pan-African technology group , has announced it has acquired a fibre pair on the Equiano subsea cable , allowing Liquid to transport traffic up to 12 Terabits , bringing a much-needed increase in international connectivity in Western and Southern Africa . With older sub-sea cables almost at the end of their lifespan , Liquid through the Equiano cable system will address the growing need for Internet capacity supporting cloud services in both coastal and landlocked countries on the continent .
The new Equiano subsea cable will link Africa to Europe via the West Coast of Africa when it is ready for service later in 2022 , providing Terabit / s of capacity to meet the growing and varied business needs of organisations across Europe , Western and Southern Africa . Through its extensive fibre backbone and satellite services , Liquid can offer reliable telecommunications and cloud services to over 1.3 billion people across thousands of towns and cities in Africa .
“ In the last few years , we have witnessed a steady increase in adoption of digital technologies . This wouldn ’ t have been possible without our investments in highspeed connectivity in coastal as well as landlocked African countries . said David Eurin , CEO Liquid Dataport . “ The continent needs companies like Liquid who not only land Terabit / s of capacity with subsea cables but also distribute that capacity inland , enabling these countries to see the same benefits as those where the cable lands .”
The Equiano subsea cable has landings planned in Sesimbra ( Portugal ), Lomé ( Togo ), Lagos ( Nigeria ), Swakopmund ( Namibia ), Rupert ’ s Bay ( Saint Helena ) and Melkbosstrand ( South Africa ), with more landing stations planned in the future . The move extends Liquid ’ s One Africa Digital Network ’ s reach into Africa , providing connectivity to large data centres on the continent while granting access to major commercial hubs . Liquid plans to interconnect the Equiano landing stations to its East-West network across Africa , creating a new global IP route between Asia , Africa and the USA .
Liquid ’ s investment in Equiano will help provide seamless connectivity for its clients across Africa , complementing its own existing national and metro fibre networks and offering increased resilience thanks to its connection to other subsea and satellite networks . Looking ahead , the deployment will bring the benefit of access to large capacities and low costs to cross-connect from subsea to terrestrial backhaul , which should lead to lower prices for both consumers and businesses .
This initiative aligns acutely with Liquid ’ s twin goals of providing the best services , connectivity , and prices to its clients while making online access to as many people on the African continent as possible . •
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