Liquid Telecom announced on Monday it has raised $150 million for the purposes of expanding its African fibre footprint.
The London-headquartered wholesaler said it plans to use the funds to enter more countries this year, but it did not disclose which ones.
However, according to a report by the Financial Times that Liquid Telecom published on its website, the operator has three markets in its sights.
The company already operates an 18,000-kilometre terrestrial fibre network spanning 15 African markets, including Botswana, the DRC, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa and Zimbabwe, among others. In January, Liquid began work on a 500-km fibre link in Zambia that will connect the capital Lusaka to Victoria Falls by mid-2015.
"We believe in the power of connectivity to transform lives and our goal is to connect as many people in Africa as possible," said Liquid Telecom CEO Nic Rudnick, in a statement.
Liquid Telecom said its aim is to give parts of Africa access to faster broadband than what is currently on offer in the U.K.
"Our fibre to the home is better than many parts of the U.K. and even London," said Rudnick, in the FT report. The company aims to connect 100,000 premises to 100 Mbps broadband by the end of the year, he said.
To help fund the company’s growth, Liquid arranged for Standard Chartered to structure, underwrite and syndicate a $150 million loan to a small group of other banks that includes Barclays and Investec.
The FT reported that the facility was heavily oversubscribed and that it will probably be increased in future.
"Our fibre networks provide capacity for high-speed fixed and mobile broadband networks, enabling Africans to access digital content, apps and OTT services. This funding will help us in our mission of building Africa’s digital future," Rudnick said.
