Staff writer

The activation of the Equiano subsea cable in Namibia on Monday, could, according to an economic impact assessment conducted by Africa Practice and Genesis Analytics, increase internet penetration in Namibia by 7.5% by 2025.

Paratus Group, the landing partner in Namibia, announced the landing of the subsea cable in Swakopmund, Namibia on 1 July, last year. According to the telecommunication company, the activision marks a significant milestone in the delivery of enhanced connectivity to Namibia and the broader SADC region.

Equiano has landing points in Lisbon, Benin, Nigeria, St Helena, Namibia, and South Africa, and is poised to revolutionise cable diversity and create new economic opportunities throughout the region.

The Equiano subsea cable has 12 fibre pairs and a design capacity of 144 Tbps and provides approximately 20 times more capacity than existing cables connecting Europe to South Africa.

This development is expected to stimulate substantial economic growth, job creation, and sustainability, positively impacting the lives of the population in the western African countries where Equiano has a landing station, which represents approximately 31% of Africa’s total population.

Furthermore, neighbouring countries, including landlocked nations, will also benefit from Equiano’s presence through various cross-border terrestrial fibre networks, amplifying the transformative power of the cable across the entire region.

Paratus Group CEO Schalk Erasmus stated, “today marks a major milestone in the development of the Equiano story, bringing significant opportunities to the region. The sizable jump in available capacity allows us to export this capacity to the rest of the region, benefiting not only Namibia but also fostering connectivity and progress across the SADC region.”

According to him, Equiano opens up new opportunities for competition, fair pricing, and expanded choices, unlocking the potential for economic growth and digital transformation.

“It strengthens Namibia’s international connectivity demands and, importantly, integrates seamlessly with the extensive terrestrial fibre network owned and operated by Paratus. We’ve invested over 40 million (USD) over the last five years to build robust infrastructure that can ensure the lowest latency from Johannesburg to Lisbon and London, thanks to the combined power of our network and the Equiano cable.”

Paratus has built an expansive terrestrial fibre network across southern Africa, including essential cross-border links from its Equiano landing station in Namibia to Zambia and Botswana, and from Botswana to Johannesburg.

This network configuration bypasses central and western South Africa, traversing Windhoek and Gaborone, and offers true resilience and redundancy, ensuring exceptional connectivity and uninterrupted services.

The result is improved latency, reduced to sub 135ms, with future improvements expected to bring the latency down even further to sub 125ms from JHB to Lisbon and approximately 150ms from JHB to London. These significant advancements provide not only improved latency but also offer true resilience and redundancy.

“We take immense pride in being the landing partner for Equiano in Namibia. This milestone will deliver improved connectivity to all Africans, aligning with our mission to transform Africa through exceptional digital infrastructure and customer service,” Erasmus stated.

With the activation of the Equiano cable in Namibia, the country and the entire African region are poised for remarkable progress, benefiting from increased capacity, enhanced reliability, and reduced latency.