2,000km fibre network to DR Congo activated

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An over 2,000-kilometre overland fibre network is set to reshape connectivity across Central and East Africa following the official launch of the Goma-to-Mombasa (G2M) route.

The new digital corridor links the Kenyan coast to eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, marking a major milestone in regional infrastructure development.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, February 2, 2026, Paratus Group, in partnership with ROKE TELKOM, confirmed the activation of the route connecting the coastal hub of Mombasa directly to Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The companies described the project as a strategic investment aimed at strengthening cross-border connectivity and improving network resilience for inland markets.

According to the statement, Paratus has established a protected, high-capacity digital corridor designed to bypass regional bottlenecks that have historically disrupted internet traffic.

“The route passes through key economic centres, including Nairobi, Kampala and Kigali, directly linking to major carrier-neutral data centres in each city to ensure smooth, low-latency data transfer,” the statement reads.

By integrating these hubs, the network enhances redundancy while reducing latency for businesses and service providers operating across the region.

The G2M route responds to growing demand for reliable and secure connectivity by offering a terrestrial alternative to submarine cable systems.

Landlocked countries such as Uganda and Rwanda have long depended on coastal infrastructure for international bandwidth, often at high cost and with exposure to outages. The new fibre highway connects inland markets directly to global subsea cable capacity at the Kenyan coast, providing wholesale carriers, internet service providers and enterprises with a dependable link that complements Paratus’ existing East-West Africa backbone.

The activation of the Ugandan node highlights ROKE TELKOM’s strategic role in delivering local expertise and infrastructure support. Through Roke Cloud, its sister company located at the carrier-neutral Raxio Data Centre in Kampala, businesses can access enterprise-grade hosting, cloud adjacency and seamless interconnection between fibre networks and digital platforms.

Roke Investments, as a joint venture partner, further strengthens Paratus Uganda’s local presence and visibility within the broader continental expansion strategy.

Speaking about the technical significance of the launch, Peter Muhumuza, Chief Technical Officer at ROKE TELKOM, emphasised that laying fibre cables is only part of the transformation. “Building long-distance fibre cables is only the first step,” Muhumuza said.

“The real value comes when we connect that fibre to strategically placed Data Centres. While routes like the G2M provide the basic digital highway, it’s our neutral, cloud-ready environments like Roke Cloud that actually make businesses more resilient. For companies in East Africa, this partnership makes it easier to adopt cloud technology and keep data local. This ensures the internet isn't just fast, but also a more secure way to get business done,” he explained.

Martin Cox, Chief Commercial Officer at Paratus Group, described the project as a game-changer for the region. “This is far more than another fibre link; it is a new digital highway for the region,” he said, noting that the protected route offers operators and enterprises direct and reliable access to global capacity.

For Uganda, where high data costs, infrastructure gaps and digital literacy challenges have slowed internet adoption, the new corridor represents an opportunity to strengthen resilience and potentially reduce wholesale connectivity costs.

Now active and carrying traffic, the G2M route supports a region projected to account for nearly 29% of Africa’s GDP by 2040. By improving cross-border trade, fintech growth and digital integration, the fibre highway stands as a cornerstone for the region’s accelerating digital transformation.