Airtel have announced that they have reached an agreement with Liquid Telecom to use their terrestrial fibre network to connect its mobile base stations and enterprises. In essence this means that Airtel’s mobile broadband subscribers across the continent will soon enjoy faster Internet access speeds on its 3G and 4G networks.
According to Liquid Telecom, the agreement answers the need for mobile operators to increase the Internet speed delivered over their mobile broadband networks. The framework agreement enables Airtel operations to leverage Liquid Telecom’s existing 20,000km-long fibre network across East, Central and Southern Africa, as well as enjoy new purpose-built fibre infrastructure, to connect Airtel’s mobile base stations and enterprise customers with fibre.
Airtel has African operations in Burkina Faso, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Madagascar, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. Liquid Telecom’s fibre network spans 20,000km across Burundi, DRC, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Their fibre network is complemented by a satellite service for rural areas.