Liquid Telecom-owned internet service company Kenya Data Networks (KDN) has announced it will connect Nairobi, Dar es Salaam, Kampala and Kigali on a single fibre network as it forays into Tanzania.
The company will lay a 12-kilometre fibre cable from Nairobi to Namanga and into Tanzania as it aims to improve the capacity and reduce latency for ISPs, carriers, homes and government organisations.
Nic Rudnick, chief executive officer (CEO) of Liquid Telecom, said: “We believe that technology should be for everyone and completion of the Namanga fibre will be another major milestone in consolidating Liquid’s fibre coverage as the widest in Africa and confirming our position as the leading pan-African communications connectivity provider.”
KDN has also introduced measures to ensure fibre interruptions are dealt with by providing an alternative fibre route between Dar es Salaam and Mombasa.
“With the completion of the KDN’s Namanga fibre we will provide even more secure and reliable solutions to businesses in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi. This fibre will improve business opportunities providing more capacity, more routes and higher speeds to fixed and mobile operators, as well as Africa’s leading companies,” Rudnick said.
Liquid Telecom commissioned a gigabit circuit between Kenya and South Africa and took advantage of the Johannesburg Internet Exchange (JINX) to re-route internet traffic, instead of being routed via Europe.
“As a result, KDN and Liquid provide the lowest latency rates on the continent (down from over 400 ms to nearer 50ms) by keeping African traffic in Africa,” the company said.
