Econet to lay fibre all the way to Johannesburg

At the Econet's Experience Expo held in November, Liquid Telecom (an Econet subsidiary) made an interesting mention.

Apparently, Econet is not just laying fibre up to the border with neighboring South Africa, fibre trenching will be carried out all the way down to Johannesburg!  This is significant: it will give Econet a much needed direct handshake with the high capacity Seacom fibre point of presence in Johannesburg. It will also provide connectivity to the SAT3 cable.

One would understand Econet's drive to ensure they own and control as much as they can the backbone infrastructure that their services will rely on. On a continent where telecoms infrastructure can still be used to outdo competition and secure a place ahead of the game, this is a crucial undertaking for Zimbabwe's largest telecoms operator.

In May this year, we posted details about Econet's 4,500km fibre backbone. Word coming out of Econet is that much of the work on the Zimbabwe side is done. Econet remains the only Zimbabwe telecoms company with pockets deep enough, and foresight clear enough to carry out such momentous projects.