Cassava Technologies business Liquid Dataport has acquired a pair of fibre cables on Equiano, the new West Coast submarine cable, capable of delivering up to 12 Tb of new Internet capacity.

The additional capacity augments Liquid Dataport’s existing pan-African fibre network, global satellite connectivity and subsea cable backbone.

The Equiano sea cable is the highest capacity cable landing in South Africa.

Liquid Dataport says it foresees a much-needed drop in Internet connectivity prices and improved quality in South Africa and numerous sub-Saharan countries.

“As Liquid’s existing and potential customers deploy digital operations to enhance customer services, the proliferation of connectivity becomes increasingly paramount to success,” it notes.

“Lack of access to affordable internet connectivity across the continent, be it in the largest cities or the remotest villages, is a significant hurdle for Africans and organisations adopting digital technologies.

“Therefore, the landing of Equiano capacity by Liquid Dataport in South Africa will significantly foster the development of businesses in Southern African countries through improved access to high-speed connectivity and increased access to digital technologies like cloud and cybersecurity, to name a few,” posits Liquid Dataport CEO David Eurin.

The Equiano subsea cable has landings planned in Sesimbra (Portugal), Lomé (Togo), Lagos (Nigeria), Swakopmund (Namibia), Rupert’s Bay (Saint Helena) and Melkbosstrand (South Africa), with more landing stations planned in the future.

The move extends Liquid’s One Africa Digital Network’s reach and Cassava’s Africa Data Centres will host Liquid Dataport’s equipment for the Equiano subsea cables.

The Equiano cable system will be available in all Africa Data Centres’ facilities and give Liquid Dataport’s customers access to vast amounts of capacity at a reduced price.

Liquid Dataport plans to interconnect the Equiano landing stations to its East-West network across Africa, strengthening further its global IP route between Asia, Africa and the US.