• The Google-owned Equiano cable features 12 fibre pairs of which Liquid Dataport now has access to a pair.
• This will allow Liquid Dataport to deliver 12TB of new internet capacity to customers.
• The acquisition expands the reach of Liquid’s One Africa Network.

Named for the Nigerian writer and abolitionist Olaudah Equiano, the Equiano undersea cable connects Portugal, Togo, Nigeria, Namibia, Saint Helena and South Africa.

The cable is owned by Google and features 12 fibre pairs and boasts a total capacity of 144Tbps. With Google announcing this week that its local cloud region will make use of this cable, Liquid Intelligent Technologies through its Liquid Dataport business has announced the acquisition of a fibre pair.

This acquisition means Liquid Dataport is capable of delivering up to 12 Terabytes of new internet capacity to the local market. This, the firm says, should help boost digital transformation among local businesses.

“Lack of access to affordable internet connectivity across the continent, be it in the largest cities or the remotest villages, is a significant hurdle for Africans and organisations adopting digital technologies,” explains chief executive officer at Liquid Dataport, David Eurin.

“Therefore, the landing of Equiano capacity by Liquid Dataport in South Africa will significantly foster the development of businesses in Southern African countries through improved access to high-speed connectivity and increased access to digital technologies like Cloud and Cybersecurity, to name a few,” the CEO adds.

The acquisition of this fibre pair expands the reach of Liquid’s One Africa Network as well as Cassava’s Africa Data Centres which will host the Equiano undersea cables.

An upshot of this is that Liquid Dataport customers will now have access to vast amounts of capacity at a reduced price.

What’s more, is that Liquid Dataport plans to connect Equiano landing stations with its East-West network spanning across Africa. Liquid truly has become a force to be reckoned with over the years.

“This new submarine cable landing is yet another addition to our steadily growing pan-African network, which includes satellite connectivity, subsea links and our cross-continent terrestrial fibre network – the largest independent network of its kind in Africa. It adds to our ability to deliver Cyber Security, Data Centres, Cloud Services, Renewable Energy and Fintech services and more to our customers that range from enterprises, SMEs and governments directly and indirectly,” concludes Eurin.

Having other internet landing sites is incredibly important. As we learned in 2020 before the pandemic, one cable breakage can lead to a massive amount of downtime for local internet users.

[Image – CC 0 Pixabay]