Paratus Boosts East African Connectivity with Goma-Mombasa Fibre Routes
Paratus Group, a pan-African telecommunications provider, has activated new terrestrial fibre routes connecting Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to the coastal landing station in Mombasa, Kenya. The company stated the new links are now operational and are designed to provide more reliable and diverse connectivity for businesses and communities in the region.
Paratus Group, founded in Namibia in 2003, operates fibre, satellite, and ICT infrastructure across more than 20 African countries. The company has positioned itself as a key player in building carrier-neutral network infrastructure, with notable projects including a 1200km fibre link in Angola and expansion of its data centre footprint in South Africa. The activation of the Goma-Mombasa route is part of its strategy to strengthen east-west connectivity on the continent.
The new route traverses the DRC, Rwanda, Uganda, and Kenya. The DRC, with a population exceeding 100 million, has one of the continent's lowest fixed broadband penetration rates, making reliable terrestrial infrastructure critical for economic development. Rwanda has aggressively pursued a digital economy agenda, while Uganda and Kenya are established hubs for digital innovation and fintech. Kenya, home to the Mombasa landing station, is a leader in mobile money with services like M-Pesa, operated by Safaricom, which was launched in 2007.
This infrastructure development occurs against a backdrop of regulatory and commercial tensions in other parts of African telecoms and finance. In South Africa, a separate dispute has emerged between major banks, telecommunications companies, and the government. The companies, including Vodacom, MTN, Standard Bank, and FirstRand, have filed court papers to challenge a government plan to increase the fee for identity verification checks from 1.25 rand to 75 rand, a 5,900% rise, according to a report by WeeTracker. The case is set to be heard in the North Gauteng High Court. The banks and telcos argue the increase is unlawful and would raise their annual compliance costs by hundreds of millions of rand.
Furthermore, South Africa's banking sector is implementing new regulations from February 2, which will lower daily cash withdrawal limits for certain card transactions at retailers, a move expected to affect millions of customers, as reported by WK Energy SA. These concurrent events highlight the complex interplay between digital infrastructure expansion, regulatory frameworks, and financial inclusion efforts across different African markets.
Paratus's new fibre link is directly relevant to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agenda, which aims to boost intra-African trade by reducing barriers. Improved digital backbone infrastructure is seen as a prerequisite for enabling efficient cross-border payments, logistics, and digital services. The route from Goma to Mombasa provides an alternative path for data traffic, potentially increasing resilience and reducing latency for internet services reliant on submarine cables landing in East Africa.
Industry analysts note that while submarine cables carry the bulk of international data, terrestrial cross-border fibre is essential for distributing that capacity inland and linking landlocked nations to global networks. The activation of this route by a private operator like Paratus adds capacity to a corridor serving some of East and Central Africa's fastest-growing economies and populations.