Pan-African telecom enabler Seacom and UbuntuNet Alliance are partnering to provide connectivity for research and education in Eastern and Southern Africa.
UbuntuNet Alliance has awarded a 15-year contract to Seacom to provide point-to-point connectivity services to the National Research and Education Networks (NRENs) of Eastern and Southern Africa, through the European Union co-funded AfricaConnect2 project.
This contract kicks off the procurement of connectivity services in Eastern and Southern Africa - the first of three regions in Africa taking part in the EUR26.6 million (R400 million) project that seeks to create a first of its kind high-speed pan-African research and education network.
"Through this agreement, Seacom continues to support research and educational work within Africa, with the knowledge that connectivity is a vital catalyst to spur innovation. The close collaboration between Seacom and the UbuntuNet Alliance will ensure Africa and its people benefit from the use of new innovative technologies and ideas," says Seacom CEO Byron Clatterbuck.
Seacom will provide capacity between Kampala, Uganda and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania as well as from Dar es Salaam to Amsterdam, Netherlands where the UbuntuNet network peers with the European Research and Education Network, G'EANT.
The link between Kampala and Dar es Salaam will complete a ring between the NRENs of Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya, and will provide a resilient network for research collaboration in the sub-region. The Dar es Salaam to Amsterdam link provides a diverse path between East Africa and Amsterdam.
This will ensure more research and education institutions in Eastern and Southern Africa benefit from seamless connectivity to each other and to the Internet, enabling faster access to information, knowledge sharing, collaboration on projects and application of best practice with researchers from across the globe.
UbuntuNet Alliance CEO Pascal Hoba says Seacom was selected after an exhaustive competitive tendering exercise and the partnership will help close the loop in the north-eastern part of the UbuntuNet, "heralding the start of a long-term agreement for the two organisations to work together collaboratively".
AfricaConnect2 builds on the success of the AfricaConnect project which rolled out the UbuntuNet regional network for research and education in Eastern and Southern Africa between 2011 and 2015. AfricaConnect2 is due to finish by the end of 2018. The EU development co-operation funds contribute up to EUR20 million (R300 million), with the beneficiary partners bringing in the remaining EUR6.6 million (R100 million).
UbuntuNet Alliance is the regional research and education networking organisation for Eastern and Southern Africa. It was established in 2005 by five established and emerging NRENs: MAREN (Malawi), MoRENet, (Mozambique), KENET (Kenya), RwEdNet (Rwanda) and TENET (South Africa).
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