CEC Liquid Telecom announced that phase one of its countrywide fibre network in Zambia is now live and providing much-needed broadband connectivity to mobile operators, ISPs, banks and other corporations. Phase one is a fibre link between the capital city Lusaka and the Zambian Copperbelt. Phase 2 of the network has been completed and is expected to go live by the end of 2011 connecting the towns of Chirundu, Ndola, Kabwe, Chingola and Chililabombwe.
Liquid Telecom is building the largest and most extensive fibre network in Southern Africa which will provide backhaul between most urban areas and last mile connectivity in the main cities of a number of countries including Zambia, South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe. The network will be directly connected to the submarine cables of Seacom, SAT3, WACS and Eassy.
The CEC Liquid Telecom network will provide virtually unlimited broadband capacity within and into Zambia and is already increasing competition and reducing end-user broadband prices by more than 50% in some areas. It is also the first fully-redundant network in the country and, because CEC Liquid Telecom has end-to-end ownership of the network, it is able to provide Service Level Agreements at a level not previously experienced in Zambia.
Chishala Kateka, managing director of ISP ZAMNET, said: “This is a very welcome development for the telecommunications industry in Zambia. There is now an additional choice to enable operators such as ourselves to provide exceptional and affordable services to end-users who now expect much faster and more reliable connections”.
Created in March 2011, CEC Liquid Telecom is a joint venture between Copperbelt Energy Corporation, a Zambian power company, and Liquid Telecom.
Nic Rudnick, CEO of Liquid Telecom, said: “We are investing heavily in the build-out of the largest and most reliable broadband network in Southern Africa. Our fibre networks are being built to last and will provide virtually unlimited capacity for decades to come”.
CEC Liquid Telecom is also setting up a data centre in Zambia for hosting, servers, routers and the equipment of public and private operators.
Liquid Telecom will be exhibiting at the AfricaCom show in Cape Town, November 9 – 10. Booth number C12. Nic Rudnick will be speaking at the show on Thursday 10 November at 1620 on ‘The Role Of Wholesale Carriers In Improving Cost-Effective Connectivity To African Operators’.
About Zambia
With a population of around 13 million, the telecom market of this land-locked country is dominated by Bharti Airtel with MTN and Zamtel also providing services. The BuddeComm analyst company estimates that mobile penetration is 47%, fixed lines 1% and internet 9%.
About Liquid Telecom
Liquid Telecom is building the largest broadband network in Southern Africa which will provide connectivity using fibre, satellites and wireless broadband.
By the end of 2011 Liquid Telecom will have laid down more than 8500km of fibre optic cable in South Africa, Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe and plans to build in more countries in 2012 and beyond. This network has access to the submarine cables of East and West Africa for international connectivity.
The fibre network is supplemented by Liquid Telecom’s satellite networks that provide connectivity to 18 countries in Africa using both large and small capacity terminals for residential and commercial customers. Liquid Telecom also provides outsourced transaction switching and point of sale solutions to major international banking groups in Africa and Europe.
