FibreCo owns and operates a national open access dark fibre network, providing infrastructure, connectivity and services across South Africa. The acquisition is subject to approval by the South African Competition Commission.
This acquisition represents another major milestone towards Seacom achieving its vision to expand its African footprint through the consolidation of fibre assets. SEACOM believes this is necessary for the evolution of the market, particularly as we move into the 5G environment with its requirement for pervasive fibre networks.
Seacom connects South Africa to the east coast of Africa, India and Europe and FibreCo connects over 60 points of presence (PoPS) across South Africa, including major data centres in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Bloemfontein, Durban, Port Elizabeth and East London. FibreCo’s network also connects the Seacom subsea cable system, which lands in Mtunzini on the east coast of South Africa, to the WACS cable, which lands at Yzerfontein, on the west coast of South Africa, enabling fully redundant high-speed ring protection for diversity around the African continent.
The FibreCo acquisition significantly strengthens Seacom’s operations in South Africa by creating a platform for the expansion of its business services. It enables the delivery of high-speed internet connectivity and cloud products into smaller cities and towns across the country, which have typically been under-serviced.
FibreCo’s current shareholders believe that they have met the original intent behind starting the business in 2009, namely to successfully transform South Africa’s long-haul bandwidth transmission landscape. This acquisition will give Seacom the opportunity to further invest in and grow the business, establishing Seacom as a leader in bridging South Africa’s digital divide and strongly positioning the country to be a key player in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
