WIOCC Restores Major ISPs and IP Transit Providers on Equiano Cable
WIOCC Press Release
August 17, 2023
Mauritius, 17th August 2023 – Leading African carrier-scale network infrastructure provider WIOCC has confirmed that it put in place restoration services on Equiano for its major ISP and IP Transit provider clients affected by the ongoing west coast subsea cable outages.
Due to a probable rock fall in the Congo Canyon, the WACS, SAT-3 and ACE subsea cables have been damaged, disrupting the services of many Southern African connectivity providers.
When the damage occurred, WIOCC was able to seamlessly transition its clients’ traffic onto its full fibre pair on the Equiano cable in a matter of hours. It has also helped many other major players in the industry – who were not its clients previously – restore their connectivity services at short notice.
This was possible thanks to WIOCC’s sizeable investment into its high-capacity, redundant IP backbone, which ensures it is capable of handling any unexpected events.
“As a strategic investor in the major subsea cables serving Africa, we always carry extra capacity for these scenarios,” said WIOCC Group Chief Business Development Officer Darren Bedford. “We pride ourselves on having been able to move ISPs and IP Transit companies onto Equiano within a single day.”
WIOCC’s investment in excellence
WIOCC stands apart from many other infrastructure providers thanks to its large-scale, strategic investments in building and operating a network that delivers superior capacity and redundancy. It prides itself in having an IP backbone that is capable not only of serving its own clients in a crisis, but also non-clients who turn to WIOCC in these scenarios.
WIOCC’s commitment to this IP backbone is emphasized by the fact that it has bought its own full fibre pairs on both the Equiano and 2Africa cables. As a direct fibre pair owner on both subsea cables, WIOCC can add capacity at any time, upgrade its equipment, and allocate the additional capacity to whomever it wants, whenever it wants. This contrasts with most other Southern African undersea cables, which are owned by consortiums – meaning members must confer before making decisions on upgrades.
Because WIOCC is dedicated to delivering industry-leading redundancy and capacity on its IP backbone, it embraces capacity across both consortium-owned cables, and its own direct fibre pairs.
To this end, WIOCC already has extensive capacity across EASSy, WACS, ACE, and Equiano, and with the addition of capacity on both the 2Africa West and 2Africa systems, WIOCC is set to have the most scalable, high-capacity, and diverse IP backbone in Southern Africa.
Benefits of Equiano
The Equiano undersea cable, which was officially launched in September 2022, runs between Portugal and South Africa – and was fully funded by Google.
The cable comprises 12 fibre pairs that deliver a combined 144Tbps of capacity, with each Equiano fibre pair delivering 12Tbps of capacity. This means each fibre pair offers nearly as much capacity as the entire WACS undersea cable.
Additionally, the Equiano cable is deployed further from the Congo coastline specifically to avoid natural disasters.
Access Equiano through WIOCC
As WIOCC has purchased its own fibre pair on the Equiano cable, it is well-positioned to help ISPs and IP Transit providers who need urgent access to capacity in the wake of the WACS, SAT-3 and ACE cable breaks.
The Equiano cable is also an excellent long-term option for these ISPs and IP Transit companies, thanks to its extensive capacity, modern design, and improved robustness.
WIOCC has been working with many of South Africa’s leading ISPs and IP Transit providers to get their services running smoothly on Equiano in the wake of the cable breaks. ISPs and IP Transit providers still requiring restoration are encouraged to contact WIOCC on [email protected].
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About WIOCC – www.wiocc.net
WIOCC is the leading player in the deployment of carrier-scale, future-proofed network infrastructure into Africa. We have the flexibility and scale to meet the ever-growing demand for reliable, high-speed capacity throughout Africa, driven by end consumers, enterprise users and the ecosystem that supports them.
Our policy of continual investment in our network to create Africa’s first, truly hyperscale network infrastructure means ongoing investment for growth, ensuring our readiness to meet the future data volume demands of end users throughout Africa.
Operating exclusively as a wholesaler, we have revolutionised the delivery of high-capacity connectivity between Africa and the rest of the world. Widely recognised as Africa’s carriers’ carrier, we offer carriers, content providers, cloud operators, ISPs and mobile operators reliable, seamless, high-capacity connectivity between more than 30 African countries and key global financial and commercial centres.
Our focus on building and maintaining strong, long-term relationships with each client enables us to develop bespoke solutions that meet their current requirements and have the capability to match future demands for growth, extra resilience and geographical expansion.
