English (UK) 
简体中文(中国) Paratus has lit up the Equiano subsea cable system in Namibia. The Equiano cable system brings significantly more capacity to businesses and residences in Namibia. Paratus has radically rationalised and simplified its product and package options to make it easier for customers to choose their ideal solution.
The activation of Equiano cable system marks a significant milestone in the delivery of enhanced connectivity to Namibia and the broader Southern African Development Community (SADC) region.
Paratus has invested over US$40-million over the last five years to build robust infrastructure that can ensure the lowest latency from Johannesburg to Lisbon and London, thanks to the combined power of our network and the Equiano cable
Paratus has strategically built an expansive terrestrial fibre network across Southern Africa, including essential cross-border links from its Equiano landing station in Namibia to Zambia and Botswana, and from Botswana to Johannesburg. This unique network configuration bypasses central and western South Africa, traversing Windhoek and Gaborone, and offers true resilience and redundancy, ensuring exceptional connectivity and uninterrupted service.
Equiano brings significantly more capacity to businesses and residences in Namibia.
With its impressive 12 fibre pairs and design capacity of 144Tbps, the Equiano cable system provides about 20 times more capacity than existing cables connecting Europe and South Africa. This unparalleled capacity, which is enabled by open access via the cable landing station in Swakopmund, unlocks unprecedented potential for all operators.
Equiano enables improved latency, reduced to less than 135 milliseconds, with future improvements expected to bring the latency down even further to sub-125ms from Johannesburg to Lisbon and to about 150ms from Johannesburg to London.
Equiano provides not only improved latency but also offers true resilience and redundancy. The Equiano cable is the second subsea cable landing in Namibia, following the West Africa Cable System (WACS). Telecom Namibia is a member of the WACS consortium and landed the cable in Swakopmund in 2011. Telecom Namibia is also a member of the SAT-3/WASC consortium, but the SAT-3/WASC doesn't have a landing point in Namibia.
Equiano opens up new opportunities for competition, fair pricing and expanded choices, unlocking the potential for economic growth and digital transformation. It strengthens Namibia’s international connectivity demands and, importantly, integrates seamlessly with the extensive terrestrial fibre network owned and operated by Paratus.
Paratus has radically rationalised and simplified its product and package options.
MD of Paratus Namibia, Andrew Halls elaborates: “In essence, we are giving more capacity for the same price. So, for example, where a customer might’ve been paying x-amount for a 10Mbps connection, they could expect to pay roughly the same for a 20Mbps line. It is going to make a huge difference to our customers’ enjoyment and freedom of using our range of services.”
The new packages have been streamlined for customers to choose the ideal solution for their needs. The old packages will be phased out, with the new packages becoming available this month.
With the activation of the Equiano cable in Namibia, the country and the entire African region are poised for remarkable progress, benefiting from increased capacity, enhanced reliability, and reduced latency. This ground-breaking project sets a new standard for digital infrastructure, driving economic growth, job creation and sustainable development throughout Africa.
