Key takeaways
- EXA Infrastructure and WIOCC Group have signed a deal for capacity on a new terrestrial transport route interconnecting Africa and Europe
- WIOCC will use EXA's new terrestrial route to Lisbon and Sines in Portugal as its gateway to Europe
- Africa has around 570 million internet users in 2022, according to Statista, and WIOCC has invested over $500 million in open access infrastructure
- WIOCC Group Chief Executive Chris Wood and EXA Chief Commercial Officer Nicholas Collins commented on the partnership
- EXA was recently awarded Best Pan-European Wholesale Carrier at the 2022 Global Carrier Awards
A new Africa to Europe route via Portugal
EXA Infrastructure, the largest dedicated digital infrastructure platform connecting Europe and North America, and WIOCC Group, Africa’s leading provider of converged open access digital infrastructure, today announced the signing of a deal for capacity on a new terrestrial transport route interconnecting Africa and Europe.
The deal comes hot on the heels of EXA’s recent announcement that it is investing in a new terrestrial transport route to Lisbon and Sines in Portugal, connecting the Iberian peninsula to EXA’s European network. WIOCC will be utilising this new gateway to support its growth as the wholesale carrier of choice across the African continent.
Comment from Chris Wood
“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 WIOCC Group Chief Executive Chris Wood. “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.”
Africa's growing demand for connectivity
Africa has around 570 million internet users in 2022 with social media, online shopping and fintech growing in popularity and rising internet penetration, according to Statista. The demand for content both within and outside of Africa is growing and WIOCC has been a key catalyst for internet growth in Africa, investing over $500 million in creating open access, hyperscale digital infrastructure.
Comment from Nicholas Collins
“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 EXA Infrastructure Chief Commercial Officer Nicholas Collins.
EXA Infrastructure was recently awarded the Best Pan-European Wholesale Carrier at the 2022 Global Carrier Awards and is committed to investing in its network to support its customer needs.
“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”, said Collins.
Francois Malterre, EXA Senior Account Manager and WIOCC Chris Wood (CEO), Ryan Sher (CCO) and Mike Last (CMO).
About EXA Infrastructure
Headquartered in London, UK, EXA Infrastructure is the largest dedicated digital infrastructure platform connecting Europe and North America, and owns 112,000 kilometres of fibre network across 32 countries. EXA’s network connects 300 cities and offers 14 Tier 3-equivalent data centres, with sub-sea routes that include three transatlantic cables, one the lowest latency link between Europe and North America. EXA is wholly-owned by I Squared Capital. For more information, see exainfra.net
About WIOCC Group
WIOCC Group is a leading digital connectivity provider in Africa. It offers connectivity services through its extensive open-access, carrier-neutral digital infrastructure to cloud operators, content providers, broadband and Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) across Africa, which in turn provide voice, data, applications, content and fibre access services to their end users and subscribers. The company is a strategic investor in hyperscale terrestrial networks, and in multiple subsea cables including 2Africa, Eastern Africa Submarine Cable System (EASSy), Equiano and the West Africa Cable System (WACS). Through WIOCC Group company Open Access Data Centres, it is establishing a rapidly growing data centre footprint in Africa, currently comprising over 30 facilities including hosting cable landing points for both 2Africa and Equiano. For more information, visit https://wiocc.net/ and https://www.openaccessdc.net/.
