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Lquid Telecom to Spend U.S.$34 Million in Rwanda's Network Expansion and FTTH Rollout(AllAfrica Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Liquid Telecom Group has announced the expansion and investment plans of its operations in Rwanda which will enable more businesses and homes to access its high-speed broadband service both within Rwanda and surrounding countries. Liquid Telecom has long recognised the advantages of Rwanda's central African location and role as an Internet services hub for east and central Africa. In June, the company announced that it had completed the build of the East Africa Fibre Ring which connects Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania and back into Kenya. This provides consistently high speeds and continuous uptime across the region. Over the next two years, Liquid Telecom Rwanda, the wholesale business in Rwanda, will invest a further US $34 million laying thousands of kilometres of new fibre across the country and to the borders of neighbouring Burundi, the DRC, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. The new fibre will enable more businesses and homes to access Liquid Telecom's broadband service. In addition, operators in neighbouring countries will be able to interconnect with Liquid Telecom Rwanda's network for additional security, backup for Uganda and an alternative routing option through Tanzania. As part of the expansion plan, and following a successful rollout at Liquid Telecom Zimbabwe, Liquid Telecom Rwanda will be the first company in Rwanda to lay extensive Fibre To The Home (FTTH) starting in the capital city of Kigali where it has already built a metropolitan fibre ring. Homes and businesses in the country have traditionally used a combination of WiMAX, dongles, satellite and mobile broadband but will now be able to connect using fibre laid directly to the premises. The FTTH service will be available from Liquid Telecom Rwanda's retail business. It will offer speeds of up to 100Mbps which, combined with unlimited capacity, will provide home connections comparable to large multinational corporations enabling usage such as high definition video, live TV streaming, uninterrupted VoIP calling, real-time online gaming and both uploading and downloading of large files. Future plans for the FTTH service include offering value-added and OTT services similar to those currently launching in Zimbabwe. Sam Nkusi, Chairman Liquid Telecom Rwanda, said "We are an ambitious company which is investing heavily in laying new fibre across the nation and direct to people's doors. We are building a 21st century network which will help our country continue to grow and prosper." Copyright CIO East Africa. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). |