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MTN subsidiary unveils railway internet cable

Peter 7th May, 2025 Telecommunication Isaac Khisa
MTN subsidiary unveils railway internet cable

Sylvia Mulinge, the MTN Uganda CEO, speaks at the launch of Bayobab's new fibre cable service in Kampala on Tuesday.


Bayobab Uganda, an MTN Group subsidiary, has unveiled its newest, shortest and fastest fibre optic route - from Malaba to Kampala, marking a significant expansion of digital infrastructure along the East African corridor.

The 260-kilometre route (Kampala to Malaba), built between December 2024 and February 2025, connects Kampala to the Kenyan border where it links directly to Bayobab’s subsea cable landing stations at the Indian Ocean port of Mombasa in Kenya.

Bayobab is the digital infrastructure pillar of the MTN Group and one of the industry leaders that are revolutionising connectivity across the East African Corridor.

  • Speaking at the official launch of the service in Kampala on Tuesday, officials said the new transformative infrastructure project reinforces MTN’s vision of delivering connectivity to all by expanding its fibre footprint across the markets in which it operates.

Built between December 2024 and February 2025, this route delivers reliable, high-capacity connectivity, completing East Africa’s digital backbone from Kampala to Mombasa and providing an alternative route should the other fibre cables experience a breakdown for different reasons.

The new route supports over 1 terabyte (TB) of capacity and offers low-latency, high-redundancy connectivity to key data centres in Kampala, including Raxio, Airtel House, and MTN Uganda, enabling improved and seamless interconnection options for service providers and hyperscalers, cloud providers and enterprise customers to operate and invest in Uganda.

  • Sylvia Mulinge, the MTN Uganda CEO, affirmed that the launch of the Kampala–Malaba Fiber Optic Route is a bold statement of MTN’s vision of ensuring that every Ugandan, wherever they live, experiences the benefits of a modern connected life.

“Imagine a startup in Lira testing its mobile app on cloud platforms without delays. A farmer in Kayunga checking real-time weather patterns to guide planting decisions. A remote school in Kisoro livestreaming science lessons from a national university. This is what a modern connected life looks like, and this is what we are enabling,” Mulinge said.

Juliet Nsubuga, the Managing Director of Bayobab Uganda noted that Bayobab Uganda heeded the call for technological transformation across the nation and the region to benefit its communities with reliable and accessible connectivity to the internet.

“In collaboration with the Uganda Railways Corporation, we leveraged the existing rail network to deploy fibre, enhancing connectivity and providing high-speed internet access to communities along the line, connecting key routes between Kampala and Malaba at the Kenyan border - and beyond,” said Nsubuga.

She added: “This new route caters to the needs of international and national technology and digital players, telecoms and ISPs that serve the communities demonstrating our belief that everyone deserves the benefits of a modern, connected life.”

  • As a landlocked nation, Uganda’s access to high-speed internet and global digital infrastructure relies heavily on cross-border connectivity. This new route provides the shortest and newest connection from Kampala to the Kenya–Uganda border, leveraging the Bayobab Kenya infrastructure to reach Mombasa subsea landing points.
  • The new fibre route serves as a powerful alternative to existing fibre systems, offering route diversity and significantly improved network reliability through low latency and increased resilience.

Bayobab is a significant player in building and operating pan-African fibre infrastructure. It boasts an extensive network of over 121,000 kilometers of open-access fibre across Africa and the Middle East, connecting numerous landing stations.

In partnership with Africa50, Bayobab is developing a pan-African terrestrial fibre network connecting the eastern and western coasts of Africa, aiming to bridge the connectivity gap and improve broadband access in landlocked countries.

Bayobab heavily relies on strategic partnerships with local and global entities, including Meta, Google, Microsoft, Africa50, and Infobip.

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