Chronicle EditorDAR ES SALAM. – Liquid Telecom has received final approval from regulators to become the largest shareholder in Tanzanian ISP Raha. The Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TRCA) rubber-stamped Econet Wireless subsidiary Liquid Telecom’s takeover, marking the pan-African carrier’s first move into Tanzania.Raha is one of the country’s largest internet service providers, supplying fibre, satellite, WiMAX and Wifi solutions to over 1 500 businesses. TRCA notified Liquid Telecom of its approval on 8 December.
“We are thrilled with this approval and look forward to being part of a pan-African connectivity movement,” said Aashiq Shariff, CEO, Raha.
The move will give Liquid Telecom’s enterprise and wholesale base direct access to Tanzania, as well as Eastern, Central and Southern Africa. Overall, Liquid’s fibre network stretches 40 000km across 12 countries.
“We are very pleased to announce that this transaction has received its final approval. The agreement enables Liquid Telecom to expand its footprint into Tanzania, a growing and dynamic African country,” said Nic Rudnick, CEO, Liquid Telecom.
Tanzania is the latest market to be added to the Liquid group’s sphere, which already includes Botswana, DRC, Kenya, Lesotho, Mauritius, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda, the UK, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Liquid Telecom joined a number of these markets through acquisitions. When it entered the Kenyan market, it bought ISP Kenya Data Networks. It also struck a deal to buy pan-African ISP Neotel, and has announced a joint venture with Botswana Power Corporation to launch a wholesale unit in the Southern African country. – CM.com
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