Raxio, Laser Light unite for Africa’s connectivity

Africa’s underserved online markets are on the brink of a major digital leap as Raxio Group, a leading pan-African data centre operator, partners with Laser Light Africa, the regional arm of the U.S.-based advanced digital network provider

The collaboration aims to deliver faster, more affordable, and more reliable internet access across key growth markets.

The partnership — Raxio-Laser Light Team to Transform Digital Access in Markets Home to Half a Billion People — will link Raxio’s expanding portfolio of Tier III carrier-neutral data centres with Laser Light’s advanced optical network. The initiative will provide cutting-edge digital connectivity across seven high-potential African markets: Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Côte d’Ivoire, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Uganda — collectively home to nearly 500 million people.

By localising data through Raxio’s facilities and Laser Light’s high-speed network, the initiative will lower internet costs, improve service reliability, and accelerate Africa’s digital transformation across key sectors such as finance, e-commerce, healthcare, education, and entertainment.

Laser Light integrates subsea, terrestrial, and satellite optical infrastructure into a unified software-managed global platform that transmits data at the speed of light. The company also offers cloud solutions supported by its optical mesh network — engineered to handle vast data volumes efficiently and sustainably.

Transformative benefits

As Africa’s data demand continues to surge, businesses and consumers face high costs and unreliable international connections. This partnership is expected to address those challenges by:

• Reducing latency: Cutting delays from hundreds of milliseconds to just a few, enabling real-time applications in cloud computing, gaming, fintech, telemedicine, and AI.

• Increasing reliability: Hosting data in Tier III facilities designed for 99.982% uptime — less than two hours of annual downtime.

• Lowering costs: Local data caching and peering could reduce wholesale bandwidth costs by up to 90%, resulting in faster, more affordable services for end-users.

• Enhancing security: Minimising the number of networks involved in data transit, reducing exposure risks.

• Advancing sustainability: Laser Light’s optical transport technology consumes significantly less power per data unit, while localised routing cuts the energy demand of long-haul transmission.

Starting in Angola

The first phase of the rollout, scheduled for 2026, will launch in Angola, anchored by Raxio’s new data centre in Luanda. It will integrate with the country’s subsea cable landings and the Angonix Internet Exchange Point. Subsequent phases will extend to all Raxio sites across the continent.

“Digital infrastructure is the backbone of economic transformation,” said Robert Skjodt, CEO of Raxio Group. “By combining Raxio’s state-of-the-art facilities with Laser Light’s global optical network, we are delivering a platform that will power innovation, investment, and job creation for decades to come.”

Derek Friend, president and CEO of Laser Light Africa, added, “The teaming of these two companies positions Africa at the heart of a global digital highway. By opening new routes for data traffic, we are connecting African markets more directly to each other and to the rest of the world.”

Building ecosystems and skills

Beyond connectivity, the initiative will generate employment in data centre construction, operations, and network management, along with training programmes to develop local expertise in Tier III operations, peering, and optical technologies.

The partnership will also prioritise:

• Infrastructure integration: Deploying Laser Light’s optical mesh network combining terrestrial fibre, subsea cables, modular data systems, and MEO satellite connectivity across Raxio’s portfolio.

• Interconnectivity expansion: Establishing Points of Presence (PoPs) and interconnection hubs within Raxio data centres to boost regional and international traffic.

• Edge enablement: Jointly developing edge data centre strategies to bring cloud, IoT, AI, and enterprise services closer to end-users.

• Regulatory alignment: Ensuring compliance with data sovereignty, energy, and ICT regulations across markets.

Together, Raxio and Laser Light aim to unlock Africa’s full digital potential — bridging connectivity gaps and enabling inclusive growth across the continent.