Paratus is ready to start operations with the Namibia landing station

Paratus announced in February that it had reached an agreement with Google to be the landing partner for the Equiano cable in Namibia.

The agreement includes the construction and management of a cable landing station for the Equiano subsea cable in Swakopmund. Paratus has already completed the construction and is on track with its aggressive expansion to provide increased capacity on its quality network to Namibia and the continent.

Last June, the landing station was completed. The internal fit was completed in January 2022, and included power, cabling cabinets, conduits, raceways, cages, and security. The landing station is now prepared to receive the cable, which is scheduled to arrive in the second quarter of 2022.

The Paratus contract included the construction of a structure to house the cable’s termination from the ocean to the landing station, where it is connected to network equipment that lights up the fiber so that it can carry data. The landing station on the cable also serves as a hub for other operators and customers to collect and distribute capacity.

The Equiano cable is scheduled to be operational in the fourth quarter of 2022. Paratus has been heavily investing in infrastructure development in order to provide better connectivity and unlimited quality networks to the southern African region.

“This cable provides a massive 20 times more network capacity than the previous cable,” says Andrew Hall, MD of Paratus Namibia. It also, crucially, provides an alternative service to Namibia and the rest of SADC, which improves redundancy and ensures network stability and uptime. This is fantastic news for both businesses and consumers in the region, and it is just one intervention in our overall growth strategy to provide quality connectivity services to Africa, allowing businesses and individuals on the continent to realize their full potential.”

With operations in six SADC countries, Paratus is a leading pan-African full-service network operator. The company’s expanded network offers a satellite connectivity-focused service in 28 African countries to a large number of customer satellite connections across the continent. The Equiano cable, the largest on the African continent, adds capacity to the Paratus SADC footprint and European network connection, and supports the operator’s long-term growth strategy.