Pan-African telecommunications services provider Seacom has completed the 100% acquisition of Hirani Telecom’s metro fibre network.
The network will be incorporated into Seacom’s existing metro network in Nairobi, and will be under its full control.
According to Seacom, Hirani Telecom is one of Kenya’s fastest-growing triple play service providers and the largest last-mile provider in the region.
It says the acquisition is part of Seacom’s ongoing strategy in the region to grow its on-net capabilities, and provide its enterprise customers with world-class connectivity.
Steve Briggs, Seacom chief sales and marketing officer, expands on what the acquisition will mean for the region: “This is a first step towards ensuring we can provide end-to-end solutions for our customers across the region. We will be able to offer more competitive services, bring new, innovative solutions to market faster, and guarantee the highest quality of connectivity and service delivery.
“The acquisition of Hirani’s metro fibre network dramatically boosts Seacom’s operations and sets the stage for the expansion of our business services in the region. The world is rapidly changing, and customers need the service, quality and availability that Seacom is known for providing.”
Seacom notes Hirani Telecom owns two purpose-built, carrier-neutral national metro networks. The first is used to service its home users with internet and content, and this will be retained by Hirani, which will continue operations as usual, it adds.
The company points out the second network, which is being acquired by Seacom, will be dedicated solely to Seacom’s enterprise customers. There will be no disruption or customer migration, as customers are already running on this network, it notes.
Seacom group CEO Oliver Fortuin explains: “Seacom Kenya has been using Hirani’s metro network to provide last-mile services to our enterprise customers.
"As the only provider on this network, it was a natural progression for us to buy the network and cut out the middle man. This will give us a competitive advantage in the market and will enable us to offer our customers better services, and tailored solutions.
“We already connect Kenya to the rest of the world, and now our Nairobi customers will be able to connect directly to the source. The expansion will also open up new markets for us.”
Share