Nokia builds multi-terabit pan-Africa optical backbone

DUBAI, UAE – Nokia today announced it was selected by Liquid Intelligent Technologies to deploy a next-generation optical transport network connecting Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa. As part of the agreement, Nokia is deploying a first-of-its-kind terrestrial network connecting submarine landing stations in Kenya, South Africa and DRC to create a highway with the potential to handle massive traffic across the Sub-Saharan African continent.

As part of the agreement, Nokia is deploying 145 nodes of 1830 Photonic Service Switch (PSS) in the seven countries with a total design capacity up to 12 Terabits per second. Once launched, the new, advanced optical transport backbone will enable Liquid lntelligent Technologies to address the growing demand for capacity and deliver submarine traffic to landlocked countries at an affordable cost.

Liquid Intelligent Technologies' new optical backbone covers the sites with a colorless and flexgrid ROADM network for improved agility and flexibility. The Generalized Multi-Protocol Label Switching (GMPLS) feature of the new optical transport network will help reduce network disruptions by enabling automatic rerouting to alternate paths as needed.

Read the full press release here.

Nokia