Paratus South Africa inaugurates vendor-neutral teleport

The new Goedehoop Teleport facility in Pretoria will enhance connectivity across Africa.

13 November 2023:  Representing the Group’s largest investment in South Africa to date and built to serve Sub-Saharan Africa, the newly constructed Paratus South Africa Teleport – The Goedehoop Teleport in Doornkloof, Pretoria – has entered the final stages of completion.  As the country’s newest vendor-neutral teleport facility, the Paratus Teleport has been designed to greatly enhance non-terrestrial communications across all key connectivity pillars – namely, telecommunications, backhaul, data center, and satellite – by providing satellite solutions and colocation services to not only its customers but also other Satellite operators.  The opening of this teleport will be another key initiative in the Paratus Group’s mission to transform Africa through exceptional digital infrastructure and service.

Managing Director of Paratus South Africa, Kallie Carlsen says that the timing of the launch is crucial as satellite communication is playing an increasingly important role in keeping businesses connected in Africa. “We can ensure uninterrupted services of our satellite solutions and colocation services, through our robust infrastructure design, which is essential for any business that depends on real-time transactional data, such as the retail and financial sectors, especially when power supply is erratic.

“We have expanded the services we offer not only to the seven African countries where we have operational teams but also to a further 28 countries on the continent to whom we provide satellite services. We offer an unequalled service across the entire region.”

Paratus South Africa provides end-to-end management and the Group’s core network allows connectivity to and from multiple countries via terrestrial and subsea fiber routes.  The Goedehoop Teleport provides resilient fiber routes to data centers in South Africa while also greatly strengthening its diverse offering of cutting-edge satellite communications services.

Built to world-class specifications, the Goedehoop Teleport is a next-generation facility that has been constructed to service future needs for reliable Teleport connectivity and colocation services in South Africa and into Africa.  It boasts extensive security – including perimeter and zoned electric fencing, CCTV and thermal monitoring, as well as biometric access control at all entry points. Access to the facility is by appointment only. It has diverse north and south fiber routes; true A&B intra-resilient UPSs (uninterrupted power supply) monitored A&B cabinet PDUs (power distribution units) and are backed by 90 hours of generator autonomy; fire suppression; and world-class HVAC systems.

Carlsen adds: “This Teleport’s quality is attributable to our hard work and dedication, and we are excited to launch it. The fact that we are also offering colocation services to other satellite operators shows our commitment and our expertise in building world-class infrastructure. We are eager to provide our customers with better connectivity and to relocate the entire Paratus SA Head Office and Warehouse to the Goedehoop Campus within the next 18 months.”

From a start-up 20 years ago, Paratus is now a major telco infrastructure provider with an impressive footprint across Africa.   Owning its own infrastructure, building expert teams in seven southern African countries, serving customers across the countries and providing a seamless quality network service have been the cornerstones of the group’s success.  Paratus also has PoPs (points of presence) in the USA, UK and Europe and provides VSAT services to more than 35 African countries. Paratus is the appointed landing partner of the Equiano subsea cable in Namibia, built and owns the CLS in Swakopmund and manages the facility; and Paratus has built four of its own Data Center facilities in three African countries.  Carlsen concludes: “Goedehoop is a major investment for Paratus; its importance cannot be over-stated as it makes our offering in the region unequalled and confirms our innate strength for always providing high-quality connectivity.”