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Vodacom network expands to Miami

Staff Writer
By Staff Writer, ITWeb
Johannesburg, 12 Nov 2019

Vodacom Business today announced it is extending its Pan-African network to Miami in the US through the new undersea South Atlantic Cable System (SACS), which is the first to directly link the African continent’s Southern Hemisphere with South America.

SACS is a submarine communications cable in the South Atlantic Ocean linking Luanda, Angola, with Fortaleza, Brazil, with a leg connecting the Brazilian archipelago of Fernando de Noronha as well. It is the first low latency routing between Africa and South America.

With the SACS cable in operation since September 2018, data traffic between Angola and Brazil no longer has to pass through Europe and the US, as was the case previously. The cable system is owned and operated by Angola Cables.

According to Vodacom, this new trans-Atlantic route offers a significantly cost-effective and faster way for African-based American multi-national corporations to connect back to the US, reducing latency by up to 40%.

Guy Clarke, managing director of Vodacom Business International, says: “Vodacom Business is undertaking this investment to shorten the distance between the American and African continents.”

He notes the reduction in latency which this route provides will allow various business applications and services to function optimally across continents.

“Vodacom Business has signed its first client – a global oil and gas multinational corporation – to use the service. Vodacom’s Miami point-of-presence also connects directly back to its European network; this triangulated network topology brings the United States, Europe and Africa closer together,” says Clarke.

Vodacom Business’s trans-Atlantic expansion follows the recent addition of 19 countries to its Africa market footprint, which increased the company’s overall coverage to 47 countries across Africa.

Last month, the company announced a partnership with submarine cable operator Seacom to initiate the next chapter of both companies’ African network connectivity ventures.

In a statement, Vodacom Business says it remains committed to increasing its fixed connectivity reach to cover most of the countries in Africa, using its extensive network which creates seamless and secure connectivity for multinational organisations, without compromising service delivery standards. 

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