Paratus Goma-to-Mombasa Fibre Route Goes Live in East Africa

In Short

• Paratus says its 2,000-kilometre Goma-to-Mombasa (G2M) terrestrial fibre route is now live and carrying traffic.
• The route links eastern DR Congo to Kenya’s coast via Rwanda and Uganda, and connects to subsea cable capacity in Mombasa.
• Paratus will also introduce a Layer 2 connectivity over LEO satellite service at ITW Africa 2026 in Nairobi.

What Happened

Paratus is pushing deeper into East Africa connectivity, and it is using a mix of fibre, data centre interconnections, and satellite links.

The company said its Goma-to-Mombasa terrestrial fibre route is now live. Terrestrial fibre is a land-based fibre optic cable, similar to a long-haul “data highway” built across countries.

Paratus said the 2,000-kilometre route runs from Goma in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo to Mombasa on the Kenyan coast. It passes through Kigali, Kampala, and Nairobi. With the route active, Paratus says customers can reach international internet capacity through subsea cables that land in Mombasa.

Alongside the fibre route, Paratus is expanding points of presence and interconnections at data centres and internet exchanges. A point of presence is a local network access site, like a regional on-ramp to a larger backbone. An internet exchange is a neutral meeting point where networks swap traffic directly, which can reduce latency and lower transit costs.

Paratus also referenced the recent launch of Starlink services in Uganda, adding satellite connectivity for sites where fibre is not available.

At ITW Africa 2026 in Nairobi, Paratus plans to introduce a new Layer 2 connectivity over LEO satellite service for the region. Layer 2 connectivity is a private network link that behaves like a secure “virtual cable” between sites. LEO satellite means low Earth orbit satellites, which typically have lower delay than older satellite systems.

Why It Matters

Cross-border businesses in East Africa often need one provider that can connect branches, cloud and data centres, and remote sites across multiple countries.

If Paratus can combine the G2M fibre backbone with local interconnections and LEO satellite options, it could offer more routing choice and resilience. That matters when a single fibre cut or congestion issue can slow down regional operations.

For operators and enterprises, the bigger story is about redundancy and control. More east to west routes, plus better peering at exchanges, can make regional connectivity less dependent on a few chokepoints.