The deal follows Exa’s recently announced plans to invest in a new terrestrial transport route to Lisbon and Sines in Portugal, connecting the Iberian Peninsula to Exa’s European network. Through this collaboration, WIOCC will use this new gateway to support its network growth.
“Our expanded partnership with Exa Infrastructure enables us to harness EXA’s robust transport routes to Europe through Portugal on a high-capacity network. WIOCC is continually investing to strengthen Africa’s global connectivity, expand open access digital footprint and ICT capabilities, and thereby extend Africa’s influence and capabilities,” said Chris Wood, group chief executive at WIOCC.
“Africa’s internet economy is growing fast, the mobile-first continent unites almost 1.4 billion people and connectivity is fundamental to Africa’s digital transformation. We are pleased to have secured this partnership and transport route with Exa.”
According to Statista, Africa has around 570 million internet users in 2022 with social media, online shopping and fintech growing in popularity and rising internet penetration. WIOCC is supporting this internet growth in Africa, investing over $500 million in digital infrastructure.
“WIOCC has been a pioneer in connecting Africa to the world, and we are delighted to be chosen to support them in Europe as they continue to scale to support the demands of their clients. The African connectivity landscape is rapidly changing with the growing demand for internet traffic and bandwidth. Reliable digital infrastructure is pivotal to improve the quality of people’s lives and drive business growth across the continent,” said Nicholas Collins, chief commercial officer at Exa Infrastructure.
“Exa will continue to expand our network in line with customer demand to ensure we are the most compelling choice for our customers who are looking for fast, secure and scalable infrastructure.”
Earlier this month, WIOCC in collaboration with Ciena is to become the first operator to activate a fibre pair on the new Equiano subsea cable system.
