adminNoble Ncube, Business Reporter
LEADING independent data and voice provider Liquid Telecom has signed a Pan-African Agreement with India’s Bharti Airtel which will see the two companies working together to provide cost effective mobile and broadband facilities to their growing customer base.
Officials said the framework agreement enables Airtel operations to leverage Liquid Telecom’s existing 20 000km-long fibre network across East, Central and Southern Africa and to benefit from new fibre routes on an on-going basis.
In a statement, Airtel Africa chief executive officer Mr Christian de Faria said the agreement was a milestone in providing fast broadband services to customers in a cost-effective way.
“Airtel has invested significantly in mobile broadband technology across its African footprint and this agreement will deliver end-to-end fibre connectivity to our 3G and 4G base stations. This collaboration reinforces our commitment to providing affordable and innovative mobile services to all,” he said.
According to Liquid Telecom, the agreement answers the need for mobile operators to increase the internet speed delivered over their mobile broadband networks. Liquid Telecom group chief executive officer Mr Nic Rudnick said mobile operators were relying on internet access and data services to grow their revenues.
He said mobile operators had managed to attract a large number of customers on their 3G and 4G networks and now needed to strengthen their backhaul to deliver a super-fast internet access service.
Liquid Telecom’s fibre network spans 20 000km across Burundi, DRC, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe and is complemented by its award-winning satellite service for rural areas.
Bharti Airtel Limited is a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa. Headquartered in New Delhi, India, the company ranks among the top three mobile service providers globally in terms of subscribers. Bharti Airtel had over 335 million customers across its operations at the end of August 2015.
Liquid Telecom is the leading independent data, voice and IP provider in Eastern, Central and Southern Africa.
It supplies fibre optic, satellite and international carrier services to Africa’s largest mobile network operators, financial institutions and businesses of all sizes.
Liquid Telecom has built Africa’s largest single fibre network, which runs from the north of Uganda to Cape Town, currently spanning over 20 000km across borders and covering Africa’s fastest-growing economies where no fixed network has existed before. Working under various brands, the Liquid Telecom Group has operating entities in Botswana, DRC, Kenya, Lesotho, Mauritius, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda, UK, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
derick.khumalo
Online Reporter