Uganda Telecom and Rwandatel buy SEACOM capacity

Uganda’s largest internet service provider (ISP), Uganda Telecom has come online the SEACOM submarine cable following a purchase of capacity a few weeks ago.
The signing of a service level agreement between Uganda Telecom, which controls 70% of the internet segment of the communications market, and SEACOM is set to end a lot of anxiety from users who are eager to enjoy the high-speed broadband experience.
Since SEACOM went live late last month, internet users have been anxious, wondering why the largest ISP in the country had not signed onto the broadband network.
Today, only Infocom Uganda, who hold SEACOM’s point of presence (PoP) tenancy agreement is signed onto SEACOM.
The fact that Uganda Telecom had not signed onto SEACOM led to speculation that the firm would not actually sign onto SEACOM because they are shareholders in the East African Submarine Cable System (EASSy), which lands in June 2010.
According to an official, Uganda Telecom has signed onto SEACOM for now as it waits for EASSy.
At the same time that Uganda Telecom purchased capacity, its sister company Rwandatel S.A. (RTL) from neighbouring Rwanda also purchased capacity to take high-speed broadband internet connectivity to that country.
SEACOM’s purchase of the UTL and RTL’s backhaul solution guarantees that Rwanda will be connected immediately.
The purchase agreement with Rwandatel will further extend the reach of international broadband capacity across eastern Africa but under the same agreement, SEACOM has secured backhaul network between Kampala and Kigali.
Through the concurrent deals, Uganda Telecom and Rwandatel, both subsidiaries of the Libyan Africa Portfolio LAP Green Networks, have purchased a significant amount of international broadband capacity from SEACOM whilst SEACOM has in turn secured a backhaul solution for Rwanda on the two regional players’ terrestrial networks between Kampala, Uganda and Kigali, Rwanda.
“Under the terms of the partnership agreement, both entities will have immediate access to the SEACOM network,” Brian Herlihy, the chief executive officer, SEACOM said.
While Uganda has been connected to the SEACOM network since its commercial launch on July 23 last month, this agreement means that Rwanda will benefit from the newly available broadband capacity as soon as September 2009 according to Herlihy.
Herlihy said the Uganda/Rwanda development is in line with SEACOM’s objective to provide connectivity solutions to landlocked countries across the east and southern African region.
Because many countries set out to deploy massive terrestrial networks in anticipation of the arrival of real and affordable international bandwidth connectivity, Herlihy said it is now making it easy to connect to SEACOM.
Now that Rwanda is connected to SEACOM, Herlihy said it will make it easier for neighbouring Burundi in the south of Rwanda to connect to the rest of the world.
“The capacity purchase by Uganda Telecom on the SEACOM network will dramatically modify the local Internet market and we look forward to a new era of true broadband across the region,” AbdulBaset Elazzabi, the managing director LAP Green Networks and Uganda Telecom said.
On Rwandatel’s behalf, the chief executive officer Patrick Kariningufu said that in line with its strategy to extend affordable connectivity to the Rwanda population, Rwandatel took major steps in developing its infrastructure.
LAP Green Networks is a telecommunications operator owned by Libyan African Investment Portfolio and specialises in the acquisition and management of telecommunications networks across Africa.
LAP Green Networks’ other investments on the continent include Sonitel Niger, Sahel Com Niger and Oricel Green Cote D'Ivoire.
SEACOM’s undersea fibre optic cable system will provide African retail carriers with equal and open access to inexpensive bandwidth, removing the international infrastructure bottleneck and supporting east and southern African economic growth.