Leading Telecommunications and Network Service Provider Paratus Botswana has just completed a P70 million project which installed 840 km of fibre which runs from Lobatse to Namibia. Dubbed Botswana Kalahari Fibre (BKF), the project promises to enhance connectivity in remote areas, further paving the way for regional interconnectivity.
The Kalahari Fibre runs from Lobatse and Tlokweng Borders via Gaborone, Molepolole, Letlhakeng, and then from Kang through to Charles Hill and the border into Namibia. It will connect Botswana to the 144 Terabit Equiano subsea cable, for which the Paratus Group built the landing station in 2022 for even faster, more reliable connections and more diverse routes and redundancy across the region.
Paratus Botswana Managing Director Shawn Bruwer emphasised that by connecting to Equiano in Namibia, the BKF route will assist in enabling more product options and will help stimulate economic growth.
Citing an economic impact assessment conducted by Africa Practice and Genesis Analytics, commissioned by Google, he informed that Equiano is forecast to more than double internet speeds and increase internet penetration by 7.5% in the next three years alone, while acting as a catalyst for considerable growth, job creation and sustainability in Namibia, Botswana and South Africa.
“The project took around 18 months to complete, and involved building infrastructure that includes 15 000 gum poles and 10,368 splices on 216 termination joints. It was built entirely by local Botswana contractors and, indirectly created around 100 jobs,” he shared
To weather the inevitable challenges that came with a project of this magnitude, the Project Team relied on insights from previous fibre builds across various continents to help minimise and prevent potential issues.
“One of the major challenges that we had to overcome was the remoteness of a significant part of the route coupled with the associated logistics. If you are familiar with Botswana and the beauty of it, you would understand that certain villages and fuel stops are separated by hundreds of kilometers.”
“After finalising the route, we worked closely with our hardware supplier to maximise the location of our repeater sites along this route. Despite utilising cutting-edge DWDM technology and equipment (the 1st in Botswana), we faced limitations with a 100km distance between repeat sites. Of the eight repeat sites on our route, three are so remote that they are powered by solar and battery systems, with generator backup,” said Bruwer.
The Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Transport and Communications Cecil Masiga said that the project marks a significant milestone in Botswana’s journey towards enhanced connectivity and technical advancement for priority number three in the country’s reset agenda which is digitalisation.
“The launch of the Botswana Kalahari Fibre by Paratus Botswana is not just a testament to the power of innovation, but also a pivotal step in the development of the future of our economy. It is a key step towards achieving our national goals as outlined in Vision 2036.”
He added that, “For Botswana, this project represents more than just technological progress, it is a catalyst for economic growth, social inclusion and national development.”
