Staff Writer
Telecommunications network services provider Paratus Group has launched “Paratus 500” following its expansion into seven new African markets this year. The new markets include Eswatini, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.
With the expansion, Paratus is now licensed to operate in 15 African countries. This makes the Group one of the first pan-African telecom companies to cover over 500 million people south of the equator, representing more than one-third of Africa’s population and GDP.
Paratus 500 connects all 15 licensed operations through a single, contiguous telecom network. The infrastructure includes terrestrial fibre routes, subsea cable landings, and advanced satellite integration such as Starlink, providing secure, scalable, and high-quality connectivity across sub-equatorial Africa.
The initiative reflects years of investment in infrastructure, local subsidiaries, and partnerships. It includes the East West Connect route, which stretches from Maputo on the east coast of Africa through Johannesburg and across Botswana and Namibia to the Equiano Cable Landing Station in Swakopmund on the west coast. The Group operates five satellite teleports and manages nearly 10 000 active satellite services, ensuring reliable coverage across all operating markets.
Key routes also include connections from Johannesburg to Lubumbashi in southern DRC, passing through Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Botswana. In Botswana, Paratus has deployed a diverse fibre network through multiple towns to improve national reach and cross-border stability.
Subsea cable systems form part of the Paratus 500 network, with landing points in Angola, DRC, France, Kenya, Portugal, the UK, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Tanzania, providing direct access to global internet hubs. Paratus also connects across the Atlantic to Brazil, the United States, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.
The Paratus Express Route, powered by the Equiano subsea cable, delivers the lowest latency international connectivity from Johannesburg and Namibia to Europe and the USA, offering up to 20 times more capacity than previous West Coast cables.
To reach more areas, Paratus has added low earth orbit (LEO) satellite services, which provide dependable connections in far-off and underserved places that lack ground-based infrastructure.
Paratus Group chief executive officer Schalk Erasmus said the launch of Paratus 500 marks a major achievement for the company, giving it the widest licensed network coverage in sub-equatorial Africa.
He noted that this accomplishment reflects years of effort to expand access to reliable, high-quality network services across the region.
According to him, ongoing investments in fibre, satellite, and strategic partnerships position Paratus to offer scalable connectivity solutions for wholesale, enterprise, and individual customers, ensuring users can stay connected anywhere and at any time.
Paratus 500 builds on the Group’s investments in infrastructure, local operations, and partnerships across Africa. The platform delivers seamless connectivity through fibre, satellite, microwave, SDWAN and MPLS technologies, offering a resilient and scalable network designed to drive growth across the region.
Caption
Paratus Group, with roots in Namibia, has expanded to 15 African countries.
- Photo: Paratus
