Internet service provider Dandemutande is to construct an 891-km fibre-optic backbone connecting Beitbridge and Harare, authorities said.
The US$8 million deal will be undertaken in partnership with Fibre, which is a unit of Bandwidth and Cloud Service Group (BCS).
“We have made an investment of US$5 million for the backhaul and will invest about US$3 million in metro fibre-optic in cities that the backhaul is passing through to modernise and upgrade our network thereby ensuring that the platform is future-ready,” Dandemutande chief executive officer Never Ncube told reporters last week.
“Dandemutande is seeking to enhance its role as a backhaul provider in the ICT sector through furthering advanced, high-capacity platforms and improved user experience,” Ncube noted.
“This speaks volumes of our commitment to providing our customers with superior connectivity solutions throughout the country and we will split the project into two phases, the first phase being the 531 km of fibre-optic from Beitbridge-Somabhula-Bulawayo which was launched in December 2022 with the Victoria Falls leg and the second phase being the 360 km of fibre-optic between Somabhula and Harare will be completed end of February this year,” Ncube added.
BCS group managing director Yonas Maru added that the new infrastructure would significantly reduce internet access costs, increase reliability and bring high-speed internet access to rural Zimbabwe.
