New East African data centre strikes big connectivity deal

News and Business

Pan-African service provider SEACOM has struck a connectivity deal with Raxio Uganda, Uganda’s first carrier-neutral, enterprise-grade data centre scheduled to launch in the first quarter 2020.

Privately-owned SEACOM launched Africa’s first broadband submarine cable system along the continent’s Eastern and Southern coasts in 2009.

SEACOM recently launched enterprise connectivity solutions in Uganda that will bring internet services in the region closer to businesses, offering “affordable, reliable and quality connectivity”, it says. Customers will also be able to cross-connect within the Raxio data centre.

Raxio Uganda was established by US-based First Brick Holdings Inc, as the first of its network of seven data centres across the region. The facility will operate in compliance to Tier III standards and at full capacity will be able to accommodate up to 400 racks and deliver 1.5MW of power.

Tonny Tugee (pictured), managing director of East Africa SEACOM, said, “This partnership will be key as we drive to expand our business in this important market. Raxio Uganda’s new enterprise-grade facilities will ensure the delivery of a full range of services, in a stable, ‘always-on’ environment to our customers in Uganda. We’re also excited about the potential to extend our relationship outside of Uganda, further augmenting the geographic reach and network infrastructure we can offer our customers.”

Robert Mullins, executive director at First Brick Holdings, Raxio Uganda’s parent company, said, “Bringing SEACOM on-board is a testament to the growing recognition of Raxio Uganda as the go-to partner for cross-connects, delivering robust enterprise-grade, open access data infrastructure, optimised and deployed to meet our customers’ needs. We are delighted with the opportunity to explore new opportunities to work together in the broader region.”

A data centre facility to be opened by Raxio Data Centre PLC in Ethiopia is currently under development and is expected to launch by the end of 2020. And investment plans are in place to expand across the East and Southern Africa region, building five additional facilities by 2022.

For more information, visit https://seacom.com/