Delivery of Advanced Network Technology to Europe (DANTE) has awarded a 15-year contract to WIOCC for connectivity services in southern and eastern Africa
Under the contract, WIOCC will provide high-speed data transmission capacity between a set of sub-Saharan Africa locations and Europe, along with housing space for UbuntuNet routing, switching and monitoring equipment.
Commencing with a two-year planning and procurement phase for the AfricaConnect project, the contract will novate from DANTE to the UbuntuNet Alliance in 2015.
Cathrin Stöver, chief international relations and communication officer at DANTE said, “We selected WIOCC for its excellent track record in delivering high-performance, end-to-end managed international connectivity services. The winning solution offered carefully tailored performance, reach, resilience and management, which matched the strict requirements set out in the invitation to tender for AfricaConnect.
According to WIOCC, the connectivity procured under the AfricaConnect project complements the UbuntuNet network, a high-capacity network for research and education in Sub-Saharan Africa which creates a regional gateway for global research collaboration.
Whilst the long-awaited internet backbone will improve the lives of millions of Africans through accelerated research and education, the connectivity will equally benefit global scientific research in areas such as climate change, malaria, biodiversity and medicine, the company said.
WIOCC CEO Chris Wood commented, “We are delighted to be partnering with DANTE and the UbuntuNet Alliance in delivering a shared vision of improved connectivity for the people of Africa, and here in particular for those involved in research and education in eouthern and eastern Africa.
“We will implement a bespoke solution based on WIOCC’s extensive African terrestrial and submarine infrastructure to deliver the cost-effective, resilient, high-capacity infrastructure required for this project. It is a real privilege to be chosen to support this initiative which will, I am sure, make an enduring contribution to the sharing of knowledge and educational resources within the region and with the global academic and research community,” he added.
