SEACOM expands South African fiber footprint with FibreCo acquisition

SEACOM, which operates the submarine network of the same name as well as other undersea and terrestrial networks in Africa (see "SEACOM boosts African Internet with submarine network upgrade" and "SEACOM chooses Infinera DTN-X for terrestrial African fiber-optic networks"), says it has reached a purchase agreement to acquire South African fiber-optic network operator FibreCo Telecommunications. Terms of the acquisition, conducted through affiliate SEACOM South Africa, were not disclosed. The deal is subject to approval by the South African Competition Commission.

FibreCo owns and operates an open access dark fiber network that stretches throughout South Africa (see "FibreCo deploys ADVA FSP 3000 to deliver high-bandwidth services in South Africa"). The company’s footprint includes more than 60 points of presence, including in major data centers in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Bloemfontein, Durban, Port Elizabeth, and East London. FibreCo’s fiber network also connects the SEACOM undersea cable system (which lands in Mtunzini on the east coast of South Africa) to the WACS cable (which lands at Yzerfontein, on the west coast of South Africa) to enable redundant high-speed ring protection.

SEACOM says the acquisition will strengthen its business services hand in South Africa. It is part of the company’s overall strategy to expand its footprint in Africa through fiber asset consolidation.

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