Fast Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) subsidiary of network solutions company Paratus Group, has announced that its 620-kilometre fibre optic network link between Muanda on the West Coast and the capital, Kinshasa, is now active. The fibre link will deliver high-speed connectivity to the region through Paratus Group’s pan-African network.
The fibre highway was originally installed and funded by the World Bank. Last year, the DRC government entity, Société Congolaise de Fibre Optique (SOCOF) announced that Fast Congo had won the tender to deploy, operate and maintain the fibre link in an exclusive 15-year license contract. Over the past few months, Fast Congo has been installing the necessary infrastructure to connect the network, which is now live and fully operational.
Through its own framework, Paratus Group provides ICT network solutions, fibre, and satellite connectivity that cross-links Africa and the world. By adding DRC to its network, Paratus Group says it now boasts a unique and contiguous footprint in Africa, which includes: offices in seven SADC countries; five data centres (including the Google Equiano cable landing station in Namibia); 6,000 VSAT terminals; an extended network through satellite connectivity-focused service in more than 37 African countries; and international points of presence (PoPs) in the UK, Europe and the USA.
The inauguration event for the new DRC fibre route took place on 16 March in Kinshasa. It was attended by several delegates from the DRC government along with executives from DRC-based local internet service provider Global Broadband Solutions (GBS) and the Paratus Group.
