Wananchi Gears to Roll Out in Nine Countries With Cisco Deal

Kenyan ISP Wananchi Online has signed a contract with US technology solutions firm Cisco to rollout triple-play services across nine countries in East Africa. The deal is supported by East Africa Capital Partners and Viscous Capital, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cisco.

Wananchi Online, which claims to be the only triple-play operator in East Africa intends to tap into markets in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Malawi, Ethiopia, Sudan and Zambia. The contract will see Wananchi Online deploying Cisco's integrated end-to-end network technology solutions - encompassing its ‘Borderless Networks’ and collaboration and data centre virtualization solutions.

Wananchi intends to extend a backhaul and last-mile fibre network across Nairobi and Mombasa in Kenya and Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. It will also build a WiMAX wireless network to provide uncapped internet access in smaller urban centres in Kenya.

The company will supplement its WiMAX and fibre offerings with VSAT services for small and medium businesses, particularly in remote locations in East Africa. Its long-term plan is to take fibre to the smallest towns in the region. East Africa Capital Partners’ Richard Bell has admitted that Wananchi is keen to develop a network in South Africa too, but: ‘South Africa is still a very closed and regulated market. East Africa has leapfrogged ahead of South Africa. If we could get a licence to build a cable network in South Africa, we’d be there in a second.’

Mark Schneider, chairman of the Wananchi Group commented: ‘The entertainment market for both home and corporate customers in Africa as a whole continues to be reshaped in light of technological advancements and new industry partnerships. The Wananchi Group's key objective is to expand our portfolio and enhance our commercial proposition, revenues and reputation. Cisco will help us to continuously deliver the necessary technology enhancements to our infrastructure to serve our ever-growing customer needs and remain at the forefront of delivering new and innovative services to our customers.’

Executives at Wananchi and Cisco said that the cost of international bandwidth in the region is now as cheap as it is anywhere in the world - thanks to the recent launches of EASSY, SEACOM and TEAMS submarine cables – making this type of increased investment possible.

Ethiopia Signs Up for SEACOM

Ethiopian fixed line incumbent, Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation (ETC), has inked a deal with SEACOM for an international backhaul link via Djibouti, Computerworld reports. As a result of the deal ETC expects to lower the cost of bandwidth, and subsequently the cost to consumers for telecoms services. Commenting on the development, Amare Amsalu, ETC’s CEO, said: ‘SEACOM is ideally suited to provide international connectivity that will complement ETC's extensive national initiative to link the country's businesses and end-users with fibre broadband connectivity,’ adding, ‘The availability of high-quality broadband at lower prices will accelerate economic development and educational initiatives that will enhance lives and will also establish Ethiopia as an important commercial centre for Africa and as a regional transit point for other service providers.’

Under the terms of the deal it is understood that ETC will connect its domestic network to an undersea cable system that has been extended to the shores of the Red Sea. SEACOM has partnered with SEA-ME-WE 3, which operates a cable from South East Asia to Europe; TEAM, which has a Kenya to Dubai link; and the Eastern Africa Submarine Cable System (EASSy), which has landing points in six countries. Currently ETC provides its voice and data services via expensive satellite connectivity, operated by Hughes International, although it does also have a low capacity bandwidth connection via Port Sudan.

The agreement complements the ongoing Next Generation Network (NGN) project being undertaken by ETC, which aims to enhance and improve the country’s existing telecoms infrastructure nationwide. The USD1.5 billion project encompasses work on both fixed line and wireless networks, as well as the national fibre-optic backbone.

Eassy To reach Kemya by 31st March

According to a report by Reuters, citing Kenyan MP Samuel Poghisio, the government expects the Eastern African Submarine Cable System (EASSy) to land by 21 March. EASSy follows two other cable systems which have landed in Kenya over the last twelve months, SEACOM and TEAMS, and will further boost bandwidth availability and connectivity across the region.

Poghisio said: ‘By 21 March, we should have the cable fully landed here. It has been a long wait so Kenya is obviously excited to be hosting and that is additional capacity for our computers, for media, for development. The challenge is still the uptake of this capacity that is coming to the east African coast.’