Johannesburg, 28 Apr 2020
Leading pan-African telecoms group Liquid Telecom has made it possible for the East Africa Community (EAC) member states to function as close to normal despite the coronavirus pandemic. By offering superior connectivity and digital solutions across Liquid Telecom’s East Africa backbone, the EAC, consisting of Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan, has been ‘digitally transformed’ with best-in-class connectivity and collaboration tools.
This effort is in response to a ‘Joint Ministerial COVID-19 Preparedness and Response’ meeting instructing EAC member states to suspend face-to-face meetings and switch to ‘modern technology’ as a result of the crisis. The provision of multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) across a closed wide area network also supports the EAC’s own dedicated video conferencing (VC). With Liquid Telecom’s enhanced connectivity, combined with the latest digital tools, members of parliament and EAC ministries are maintaining uninterrupted close to normal operations during the virus pandemic while also delivering on its promise of regional integration.
Liquid Telecom had already established a wide area network (WAN) in 2019 – in Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda South Sudan and Tanzania – all member states are connected. Network traffic flows are increased via the shortest path between each state across Liquid Telecom’s high capacity fibre network. This includes connectivity to the main EAC data centre in Arusha, East African Institutions located in different partner states and its backup facility in Uganda linked directly to the six EAC Courts of Justice located in different countries of EAC and relevant authorities like national banks and capital market authorities in EAC.
“If ‘necessity is the mother of invention’, COVID-19 has forced us all to rethink our daily lives and how we work, and Africa is no exception. Supporting all of our customers and especially the East Africa Community at this critical time is a priority for Liquid Telecom. We have ensured the EAC maintains as close to normal operations with world-class digital services and collaboration software delivered across ‘Liquid Telecom’s East Africa backbone’, a new ecosystem for the extended East African communities offering enhanced connectivity. The resilience of our network means we are always able to serve a vital function, even during this crisis,” said Adil Youssefi, CEO Liquid Telecom East Africa Region.
“My deepest condolences to all those who have lost friends and family due to COVID-19. And my appreciation to the governments, emergency services and healthcare staff that are playing a critical role reducing the impact of the virus while also helping to save lives,” continued Youssefi.
Commenting on the announcement, Eng Murenzi Daniel, Principal Information Technology Officer, East African Community, said: “Business continuity is critical at the East African Community as member states continue to engage on regional matters. Even in the midst of COVID-19, key decisions still need to be made and Liquid Telecom has enabled us to stay on top of things. We have been able to hold several meetings virtually with our stakeholders, East African Legislative Assembly Committee meetings and also plenary and parliamentary sessions have started online with quick response times from member states owing to Liquid Telecom’s collaboration tools. Communication among members has been seamless and we have experienced superior network performance all through. We are looking forward to continue using these tools provided for communication to enhance regional integration in both the short and long term.”
In addition to enhanced connectivity during the virus pandemic, Virtual Workplace by Liquid Telecom supports home and remote working with the Microsoft Teams collaboration tool with video conferencing plus full online access to Office 365: www.liquid.fyi/virtual
About the East African Community Secretariat: The East African Community (EAC) is a regional intergovernmental organisation of six partner states, comprising Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda, with its headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania. The EAC Secretariat is ISO 9001: 2015 Certified
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Liquid Telecom
Liquid Telecom is a leading communications solutions provider across 13 countries primarily in Eastern, Southern and South Africa that serves mobile operators, carriers, enterprise, media and content companies and retail customers with high-speed, reliable connectivity, hosting and co-location and digital services. It has built Africa’s largest independent fibre network, stretching more than 70,000km. It operates state-of-the-art data centres in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Nairobi, with a combined potential 19,000 square metres of rack space and 78 M.W. of power. This is in addition to offering leading cloud-based services, such as Microsoft Office365 and Microsoft Azure across Liquid Telecom’s fibre footprint. Through this combined offering Liquid Telecom is enhancing customers’ experience on their digital journey. In October 2019, Liquid Telecom was recognised as ‘The Best African Wholesale Carrier’ for the 8th consecutive year at the Global Carrier Awards. www.liquidtelecom.com
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