Paratus Announces the Completion of Cable Landing Station in Namibia

Last February, Paratus announced that it had entered into 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 at Swakopmund for the Equiano subsea cable.  Paratus has already completed the build and is on track with its aggressive expansion to provide Namibia and the continent with increased capacity on its quality network.

The landing station was completed in June last year.  The internal fit – including power, cabling cabinets, conduits, raceways, cages, and security – was completed in January 2022.  The landing station is now ready to accommodate the cable, which is due to land in the second quarter of 2022.   

The Paratus contract included the building to house the termination of the cable from the ocean to the landing station where it is connected to the network equipment that lights up the fiber so that it may carry data. The cable’s landing station is also a meeting point for other operators and customers to collect and distribute their capacity.   

The Equiano cable is expected to be ready for service in the fourth quarter of 2022.   Paratus has been heavily investing in building the infrastructure to provide better connectivity and deliver unlimited quality networks to the southern African region.  Paratus Namibia MD, Andrew Hall says: “This cable provides a massive 20 times more network capacity than the previous cable.  It also, importantly, provides an alternative service to Namibia and the rest of SADC, which in turn enhances redundancy to ensure network stability and vastly improved uptime.  This is great news for both businesses and consumers across the region and represents just one intervention in our overall growth strategy to provide quality connectivity services to Africa, unlimiting the potential of business and individuals on the continent.” 

Paratus is a leading pan-African full-service network operator with operations in six SADC countries. The business’s extended network provides a satellite connectivity-focused service in 28 African countries to a multitude of customer satellite connections across Africa.  The additional capacity offered by the Equiano cable, the largest on the African continent, further strengthens the Paratus SADC footprint and European network connection, and supports the operator’s long-term growth strategy.