Liquid Telecom has become the first operator to build a satellite hub at Teraco’s vendor-neutral earth station in South Africa in a move that will enable it to route African traffic in Africa rather than backhauling it via Europe hence reducing latency and increased connectivity speeds for its customers.

This multi-million dollar (US) investment means African businesses will begin to enjoy high-speed broadband connectivity, reduced costs and associated business tools no matter where they are physically located. The firm will also be able to connect customers to its satellite network very quickly and has sourced best-in-market VSAT equipment.

According to Nic Rudnick, CEO of Liquid Telecom, “Our fibre and satellite networks complement each other and enable us to meet the ever-increasing demand for connectivity from across Africa. Teraco is the most connected point in southern Africa and our investment in the earth station and the expansion of our satellite capabilities reflects our commitment to building Africa’s digital future.”

Liquid Telecom has an over 17,000 km fibre network from Uganda to Cape Town, the new satelitte hub in South Africa enables it to further expand its pan-African satellite business providing high-speed, cost-effective broadband services to more remote areas where it is neither commercially viable nor practical to lay fibre.

Satellite is usually deployed to provide connectivity to national parks, out of town offices, remote mining and exploration companies. However, most VSAT services are neither fast nor robust enough to manage MPLS or private VPN services which businesses frequently need.

Liquid Telecom’s fibre and satellite networks provide a variety of wholesale broadband services including MPLS and VPN systems to cellular, wireless and fixed line providers, ISPs, financial institutions and businesses of all sizes in eastern, central and southern Africa.

Lex van Wyk, CEO of Teraco Data Environments said Liquid Telecom’s investment at the Teraco site were welcome and will help Liquid Telecom become even more innovative and recognise future trends and respond to them.