KAMPALA, Uganda — Paratus Group, a pan-African telecommunications operator, has officially launched its Goma-to-Mombasa (G2M) fibre route in partnership with ROKE TELKOM. Spanning approximately 2,000 kilometres, the new overland network marks a significant milestone in strengthening cross-border digital connectivity between East and Central Africa.
The G2M route directly connects the coastal city of Mombasa to Goma in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), creating a protected, high-capacity digital corridor that bypasses regional bottlenecks. Along its path, the route passes through key economic hubs including Nairobi, Kampala, and Kigali, linking directly to major carrier-neutral data centres in each location to ensure seamless, low-latency data transmission.
The new corridor addresses the region’s rising demand for resilience and redundancy by providing a terrestrial alternative that connects inland markets directly to global subsea cable capacity at the Kenyan coast. For wholesale carriers, internet service providers (ISPs), and enterprises, the route delivers a reliable link that complements Paratus’ existing East–West African backbone.
The activation of the Ugandan node underscores the strategic role of ROKE TELKOM as a key infrastructure and connectivity partner. The company provides local expertise and operational support critical to maintaining network performance within one of East Africa’s most important digital markets.
Roke Cloud, a sister company of ROKE TELKOM, is collocated at Raxio Uganda and offers carrier-neutral infrastructure designed for maximum flexibility, cloud adjacency, and enterprise-grade uptime. This ensures rapid access to the core network and seamless interconnection between fibre infrastructure, data centres, and cloud platforms. Meanwhile, Roke Investments, as a joint venture partner, strengthens Paratus Uganda’s local credibility and market presence, positioning Uganda as a pivotal node in the group’s broader continental expansion strategy.
Speaking on the technical significance of the launch, Peter Muhumuza, Chief Technical Officer at ROKE TELKOM, highlighted that infrastructure alone does not guarantee digital transformation.
“Building long-distance fibre cables is only the first step,” said Muhumuza. “The real value comes when that fibre connects to strategically located data centres. While routes like G2M provide the digital highway, it’s neutral, cloud-ready environments like Roke Cloud that make businesses more resilient. For companies in East Africa, this partnership simplifies cloud adoption while keeping data local. It ensures the internet is not only faster, but also more secure and reliable for business.”
Martin Cox, Chief Commercial Officer of Paratus, described the project as transformative for the region.
“This is far more than another fibre link; it is a new digital highway for East and Central Africa. The protected route from the coast into Goma provides operators and enterprises with direct, dependable access to global capacity.”
Addressing Uganda’s Connectivity Challenges
For years, Uganda has navigated a complex connectivity landscape that has constrained digital growth. Despite steady fibre expansion, many communities — particularly in rural areas — remain offline due to the high cost of data services and smartphones, which are often taxed as luxury goods. As a landlocked nation, Uganda also incurs additional costs to access subsea cable infrastructure through coastal neighbours, expenses that are ultimately passed on to consumers.
Beyond infrastructure gaps, persistent challenges such as unreliable electricity supply and limited digital literacy continue to widen the digital divide. As a result, reliable high-speed internet access has largely remained concentrated in major urban centres.
The G2M route aims to help address some of these structural limitations by enhancing redundancy, improving pricing efficiencies over time, and strengthening regional integration.
Now fully operational and carrying live traffic, the G2M corridor supports an East African region forecast by Euromonitor to contribute 29% of Africa’s GDP by 2040. It provides governments, NGOs, financial institutions, and private sector players with a robust digital backbone for faster international connectivity, stronger cross-border trade, fintech innovation, and protection against outages that frequently affect single-route coastal connections.
As Paratus continues expanding its African footprint, the G2M route stands as a clear example of how large-scale infrastructure investment, combined with strong local partnerships, can accelerate digital transformation across the continent.
About ROKE TELKOM
ROKE TELKOM is a Uganda-based telecommunications company fully licensed by the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) since 2006 as both a Public Service Provider (capacity resale, voice, and data) and a Public Infrastructure Provider.
