Leading network and telecommunications company Paratus Botswana announced on Wednesday the construction of a new fibre cable along the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Highway, that will link Livingstone, Zambia, with Gaborone, Botswana via Zimbabwe.

The first segment in Botswana, which would run roughly 500km from Gaborone to Plumtree, is expected to be finished in February 2025.

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Rural network to be improved by the fibre cable connection 

Improved rural network coverage is anticipated as a result of the project, as smaller providers take advantage of the lower cost per megabit that this endeavour brings about.

As part of the Paratus Group’s Southern Continental Agenda, the SADC Highway easily connects to the Paratus BKF (Botswana Kalahari Fibre) route, which was introduced earlier this year. It will give vital redundancy for current routes through South Africa by delivering up to 11 terabits of potential new capacity to Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Along with a direct route south to the Teraco Data Centre in Johannesburg, the route provides an alternate way to connect from the east to the west via TKF to the Equiano subsea cable at Swakopmund in Namibia.

The new SADC Highway is much awaited and will provide these markets with lower latencies and larger capacities as an alternative to conventional routes via Beitbridge.

Paratus Botswana MD explains the potential impact of the initiative 

As Paratus Botswana’s Country MD Shawn Bruwer explains:

“This is an attractive new route for Botswana as well as Southern Africa. It is eagerly awaited, as witnessed by several operators already purchasing capacity.”

“The SADC Highway also represents Paratus Botswana’s fourth fiber route: two into South Africa, one into Namibia and very soon this new route into Zimbabwe and Zambia.”

“This cements our position in Southern Africa and Botswana as a communications hub, not only due to the geographic location but also to the foresight by Paratus in addressing regional needs.”

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“It demonstrates the Paratus Group’s commitment to investment in Botswana and contribution to economic diversification in the country. The various routes now provide unsurpassed redundancy and diversity for the country.”

This investment by Paratus ensures that, upon completion, the SADC Highway will deliver low-latency, high-quality connectivity across the continent and globally. By connecting to the Equiano subsea cable in Namibia, it will increase capacity, lower costs and stimulate economic growth in the region.

Bruwer adds: “This is another part of our ongoing investment in our network infrastructure to meet the growing demand for telecommunications services in the region. These investments align with our vision to connect more people across the continent with quality communications and network services.”