Connectivity options widen in and out of Africa

9 May 2013

SINGAPORE: An agreement between Epsilon Telecommunications described as the world's largest global telecommunications network exchange, and Seacom Interconnect, a privately owned communications service provider will offer greater global access to and from Africa.

Epsilon has connected to Seacom in Telehouse North in London, UK. All network operator traffic arriving on the undersea cable systems in London can connect to the global network exchange seamlessly. Similarly, international network operators buying services from African operators can deliver their traffic via the undersea cable systems.

Seacom's undersea cable system, nearly 75% African owned, directly connects South Africa and eastern Africa with Europe and southern Asia, covering a distance of over 17,000km.

With Seacom pre-connected, Epsilon can offer its customers network connectivity to Africa via the Seacom network and carry African telecommunications traffic globally. Customers of Seacom in turn have access to Epsilon's 450+ pre-connected network operators around the world.

Fastest growing telecoms market

"Having these agreements allows us to serve more African carriers, while helping carriers around the world connect to one of the world's fastest growing telecommunications markets," says Clint Collins, regional director, carrier business MEA at Epsilon Telecommunications. "We see growing demand in Africa for our outsourced network model and this agreement reaffirms our commitment to supporting African telecoms development."

"Our goal is to enable the future of the African internet and this means ensuring that our customers have access to high-quality network services both in Africa and abroad. Connecting with Epsilon further adds to the portfolio of network services available to the African market which is the foundation for growth," says Claes Segelberg, chief technical officer at Seacom.

West African agreement

Epsilon has also signed an interconnection agreement with West Africa Cable System on the west coast of the continent. The consortium-owned WACS undersea cable system spans 16,000km and has 15 landing stations from South Africa to the UK. The WACS consortium is made up of 11 international telecoms carriers. This gives Epsilon undersea cable presence that circumnavigates Africa.