AfricaConnect Connectivity — Nairobi and Lusaka to Sudan and Europe.

Descriptions

GEANT Liited, on behalf of the Ubuntunet Allianceand European National Research and Education Networks, coordinated this procurement under the AfricaConnect project. The project, funded by the European Commission Development and Cooperation-Europe Aid directorate (http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/index_en.htm), aims to establish a high-capacity network for research and education in Southern and Eastern Africa (ESA) region, and to connect this network to the worldwide community of Research and Education Networks through GÉANT, the pan-European Research and Education Network operated by GEANT.The beneficiaries of AfricaConnect are the NRENs under the UbuntuNet Alliance, the regional research andEducation Network for the ESA region. The Alliance currently has membership drawn from 14 countriesnamely:— The Democratic Republic of Congo,— South Africa,— Ethiopia,— Kenya,— Madagascar,— Malawi,— Mozambique,— Namibia,— Rwanda,— Somalia,— Sudan,— Tanzania,— Uganda— Zambia.The project has European partners comprising the National Research and Education Networks (NREN) ofGermany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands and Portugal - who respectively represent the GÉANT community. GEANT sought data links from UbuntuNet Alliance PoP in Nairobi to Port Sudan and Amsterdam and from the UbuntunNet Alliance PoP in Lusaka to London. Minimum connectivity required was STM-1 to Sudan and STM-4 from Lusaka. Pricing was required for 1, 3, 5 and 10 year terms subject to commercial considerations and overall affordability of the total solution.