Paratus Botswana, a leading telecommunications and network services provider, has commenced work on lighting a new fibre route, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Highway, which will connect Gaborone in Botswana, through Zimbabwe, to Livingstone in Zambia. 

The first section in Botswana, which runs from Gaborone to Plumtree, spans approximately 500 kilometres.

It is scheduled for completion in February 2025. 

The project is expected to drive improved rural network coverage as smaller providers capitalise on the reduced cost per megabit, resulting from this initiative.

The SADC Highway forms part of the Paratus Group’s Southern Continental Agenda, and seamlessly integrates into the Paratus BKF (Botswana Kalahari Fibre) route launched earlier this year. 

It will deliver up to 11 terabits of potential new capacity to Zimbabwe and Zambia, providing critical redundancy for existing routes through South Africa.

The route offers an alternative route to connect from the East to the West directly to the Equiano subsea cable at Swakopmund in Namibia via TKF, as well as a direct route South to the Teraco Data Centre in Johannesburg. 

As an alternative to traditional routes via Beitbridge, the new SADC Highway is highly anticipated.

It will offer lower latencies and higher capacities for these markets. 

Shaun Bruwer, country managing director of Paratus Botswana, noted: “This is an attractive new route for Botswana as well as Southern Africa.  It is eagerly awaited as witnessed by several operators already purchasing capacity.

“The SADC Highway also represents Paratus Botswana’s fourth fibre route: two into South Africa, one into Namibia, and very soon this new route into Zimbabwe and Zambia.  This cements our position in Southern Africa and Botswana as a communications hub, not only due to the geographic location but also to the foresight of Paratus in addressing regional needs. 

“It demonstrates the Paratus Group’s commitment to investment in Botswana and contribution to economic diversification in the country. The various routes now provide unsurpassed redundancy and diversity for the country,” he added.