SEACOM buys Africell Uganda assets for East African expansion
Pan-African service provider SEACOM has expanded its footprint in East Africa through the acquisition of what it called “selected infrastructure assets” from Africell in Uganda. The assets include 760 km of fiber in the Ugandan capital of Kampala and surrounding towns, a 250 square-meter data center, and office space.
The deal, alongside the company’s recent acquisition of a metro fiber network from Kenyan service provider Hirani Telecom, strengthens SEACOM’s presence in East Africa. The company expects its new assets will help it better serve customers in Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania. In particular, the assets will better address customer needs in Uganda, which SEACOM has served with wholesale services since 2009 (see "Seacom and Tyco Telecommunications complete Phase 1 of SEA Cable System") and corporate offerings since 2019.
“East Africa has been an important market for SEACOM ever since we first arrived on the shores of Mombasa in 2009,” explained Tejpal Bedi, managing director and regional head of sales for SEACOM ENEA. "By officially establishing ourselves in Uganda through proprietary facilities and resources, we are prioritizing widespread connectivity and opening up opportunities to work with businesses in search of quality Internet services.
“SEACOM is responding to the needs of the market. Customers are starting to buy more bandwidth. Businesses are making use of the cloud like never before, using enterprise resource planning, Office 365, and customer relationship management (CRM) solutions that serve not just to fill gaps, but aid in driving digital transformation and strengthening internal and external capabilities. The growth of the internet in the region follows the demands of these businesses, and it’s up to us to facilitate that. The end result is lower prices, improved reactions, and an overall better experience for our customers," concluded Tej.
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Stephen Hardy | Editorial Director and Associate Publisher, Lightwave
Stephen Hardy is editorial director and associate publisher of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report, part of the Lighting & Technology Group at Endeavor Business Media. Stephen is responsible for establishing and executing editorial strategy across the both brands’ websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products. He has covered the fiber-optics space for more than 20 years, and communications and technology for more than 35 years. During his tenure, Lightwave has received awards from Folio: and the American Society of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) for editorial excellence. Prior to joining Lightwave in 1997, Stephen worked for Telecommunications magazine and the Journal of Electronic Defense.
Stephen has moderated panels at numerous events, including the Optica Executive Forum, ECOC, and SCTE Cable-Tec Expo. He also is program director for the Lightwave Innovation Reviews and the Diamond Technology Reviews.
He has written numerous articles in all aspects of optical communications and fiber-optic networks, including fiber to the home (FTTH), PON, optical components, DWDM, fiber cables, packet optical transport, optical transceivers, lasers, fiber optic testing, and more.
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