Overview:
Paratus Group expands its East Africa network with the launch of Starlink satellite services in Uganda and the live 2,000km Goma-to-Mombasa cross-border fibre route.
KAMPALA, Uganda — Pan-African network operator Paratus Group is expanding its footprint across East Africa through the launch of Starlink satellite services in Uganda and the activation of a major cross-border terrestrial fibre route.
The telecommunications provider will present its regional expansion milestones at the ITW Africa 2026 conference in Nairobi later this month.
A primary driver of the expansion is the commercial rollout of Starlink satellite internet in Uganda. The technology extends connectivity options to businesses in areas where physical cable infrastructure remains limited or unavailable.
The satellite rollout is complemented by the activation of the 2,000-kilometre Goma-to-Mombasa (G2M) terrestrial fibre line. Running through Kigali, Kampala, and Nairobi, the route links Goma in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo directly to subsea cable landing capacity on the Kenyan coast at Mombasa.
Paratus Kenya Country Manager Joseph Kibwott noted that the combination of infrastructure offers regional businesses greater flexibility.
“The G2M route is live, our footprint in the region is growing and we are bringing different connectivity technologies together to give customers more choice,” Kibwott said. “For businesses operating across several markets, the value is being able to work with one network partner across countries and technologies.”
To support the infrastructure, Paratus has established points of presence and interconnections at regional data centres and internet exchange points, allowing data traffic to route directly across national borders.
Paratus Group Chief Technical Officer Gert Duvenhage emphasized that building a resilient network requires a multi-technology model.
“A strong network is about more than fibre alone,” Duvenhage said. “It is about combining terrestrial infrastructure, data centers, internet exchanges and satellite connectivity to create reliable routes for customer traffic.”
At the Nairobi summit, Paratus plans to introduce a new Layer 2 Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite service for the East African market, designed to provide private connections between branch offices, data centres, and remote operating sites.
Operating across 16 sub-equatorial African countries, Paratus maintains international points of presence in Europe, the United Kingdom, and the United States.