Paratus strengthens connectivity across sub equatorial Africa

Paratus Group has introduced “Paratus 500,” marking a major milestone following the Group’s expansion into seven additional African markets this year, namely Eswatini, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe

With this growth, Paratus is now licensed to operate in 15 African countries, making it one of the first pan African telcos to reach more than 500 million people south of the equator, representing over one third of Africa’s population and GDP.

Paratus 500 allows the Group to interconnect its 15 licensed operations through a unified and contiguous telecom network. This extensive infrastructure includes a mix of terrestrial fiber routes, strategic subsea cable landings and advanced satellite integration, including Starlink, to deliver secure, scalable and high quality connectivity across sub equatorial Africa.

Built on sustained investment in infrastructure, local subsidiaries and strategic alliances, Paratus 500 incorporates the East West Connect route, stretching from Maputo on Africa’s east coast, through Johannesburg, across Botswana and Namibia, to the west coast at the Equiano Cable Landing Station in Swakopmund. The Group also operates five satellite teleports and supports nearly 10,000 active satellite services to ensure reliable coverage across all its markets.

Other key routes include links from Johannesburg to Lubumbashi in southern DRC, running through Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana. In Botswana, Paratus has deployed diverse fiber pathways across multiple towns to boost nationwide coverage and cross border resilience.

Subsea infrastructure remains a crucial element of the Paratus 500 ecosystem, with international landing points in Angola (Luanda), DRC (Kinshasa), France (Marseilles), Kenya (Nairobi), Lisbon (Portugal), London (UK), Mozambique (Maputo), Namibia (Windhoek), South Africa (Pretoria) and Tanzania (Dar es Salaam), ensuring direct access to major global internet hubs. The network also extends across the Atlantic to Brazil (Fortaleze), the United States (Miami and New York), the Netherlands (Amsterdam) and the United Kingdom (London).

The Paratus Express Route, powered by the Equiano subsea cable, offers the lowest latency international connectivity from Johannesburg and Namibia to Europe and the USA, delivering up to 20 times the capacity of previous West Coast systems.

Further strengthening its regional footprint, Paratus has incorporated LEO (low earth orbit) satellite services, improving coverage and ensuring dependable connectivity in underserved and remote locations where terrestrial networks are limited.

Schalk Erasmus, CEO of Paratus Group, commented, “With Paratus 500, we now have the most coverage under licence in sub equatorial Africa, a goal we have worked towards for many years. This milestone enables us to connect people and businesses across the region with reliable, high quality network services. Our continued investment in fiber, satellite and strategic partnerships empowers us to deliver scalable connectivity solutions to wholesale, enterprise and individual customers, providing the freedom to connect anywhere, anytime.”

Paratus 500 reflects long term investment in resilient infrastructure, local operations and strategic partnerships across the region. This foundation supports an end to end connectivity offering that spans fiber, satellite, microwave, SD WAN and MPLS technologies, ensuring a robust, scalable and customer driven platform that enables growth and opportunity throughout the region.