Windhoek, Namibia – 11 June 2024 - In a joint effort to accelerate Namibia's digital transformation journey, Telecom Namibia, the national telecommunications operator, and Sparkle, the first international service provider in Italy and among the top global operators, have signed an agreement for provision of capacity services on the Equiano subsea cable connecting Portugal to South Africa.
Wholly owned by the Government of the Republic of Namibia. Telecom Namibia runs the largest digital telecommunication network in the country, serving more than 619,000 customers with a wide portfolio that includes voice, text, data and video solutions.
In an exclusive agreement, Sparkle will provide Telecom Namibia with capacity services on the Equiano submarine cable that connects Portugal to South Africa, thus ensuring a diversified, low latency route between Africa and Europe, supporting Namibia's digital development and the growing demand for data from neighbouring countries.
Leveraging the Equiano submarine cable, Telecom Namibia is poised to deliver a significant boost to Namibia's digital infrastructure. This partnership offers a diversified, high-capacity route for data transmission, enhancing network resilience and reducing latency. The resulting high-speed connectivity will empower businesses and government institutions to accelerate digital transformation initiatives, fostering economic growth and propelling Namibia towards a knowledge-based economy. This future-proofed network infrastructure ensures Telecom Namibia can meet the ever-increasing data demands of its customers and the broader region.
Similarly, the Equiano Cable enhances the resiliency of the subsea cable infrastructure by providing redundancy. This ensures uninterrupted service continuity in the event of an outage on either the SAT-3 or WACS.
Concluding the agreement, Telecom Namibia CEO Dr. Stanley Shanapinda said: “We are thrilled to partner with Sparkle to leverage the Equiano cable's advanced capabilities. This strategic alliance underscores our unwavering commitment to delivering exceptional connectivity solutions to our customers and fostering Namibia's digital transformation. The Equiano cable's high-speed, low-latency connection will serve as a catalyst for innovation and economic growth across the nation.”
“We are very pleased for this agreement with Telecom Namibia which confirms our shared vision on the importance of international connectivity to support the digital growth of the country,” said Enrico Bagnasco, CEO of Sparkle. “We are also proud to see how our infrastructure on the Equiano submarine cable is proving crucial for the evolution of the telecommunications sector in the African continent”.
Sparkle is the leading global Tier-1 operator in Africa thanks to its Seabone IP backbone, boasting extensive coverage in the continent, a wide network of Points of Presence (PoPs) across North Africa, Nigeria, South Africa and Djibouti, as well as fiber capacity on the Equiano subsea cable.
