ZAMREN and TENET form the first UbuntuNet cross-border link between Lusaka and Johannesburg

On 17 July 2012 ZAMREN, (the Zambian power utility company), TENET and CEC-Liquid Telecom completed installing a cross-border link between TENET and ZAMREN. This links the research and education community in Zambia with other National Research and Educational Networks (NRENs) and through the SANReN Network in South Africa to GÉANT to fully participate in global research and education networking activities.

The initial capacity of 1 STM-1 (155Mbps) between the ZAMREN Network Operating Center (NOC) at the University of Zambia in Lusaka and the TENET node in Johannesburg, linked via Zimbabwe, forms the first research and education cross-border link in Africa.

In 2011, through The Netherlands Initiative for Capacity Development in Higher Education (NICHE) programme, the Dutch Government approved a four-year project with funding of € 2,25 million to commence the "ICT Capacity Building Support to Strengthen Higher Education and Research in Zambia" project. This project was awarded to the University of Groningen in partnership with VU University Amsterdam, Radboud University and UbuntuNet Alliance.

Under this project, ZAMREN is supported in terms of ICT infrastructure (including network equipment) and capacity development. The Zambia Information and Technology Authority (ZICTA), has also provided funding of € 350,000 for the last-mile connectivity of the three public universities to the national backbone run by the ZESCO. ZESCO has given ZAMREN a lambda light path (1Gbps) on its fibre network to facilitate the national research and education network.

ZAMREN is the 4th NREN to connect to UbuntuNet Alliance infrastructure following TENET (South Africa), KENET (Kenya) and TERNET (Tanzania). As an output of the ongoing implementation of the AfricaConnect project, more cross-border links will appear in the near future.

Source: UbuntuNet Alliance

About UbuntuNet Alliance

UbuntuNet Alliance is the regional Research and Education Network for East and Southern Africa. It is an Alliance of 13 NRENs in the region aiming at interconnecting with each other and connecting to other regional networks globally. The Alliance is also working towards enabling collaboration in research and education over world class networks. The Alliance was established in 2005 and registered in 2006 as a not-for-profit regional association of NRENs in Eastern and Southern Africa.