Seacom has launched new high-capacity terrestrial network route between Nairobi and Kampala, upgrading a long-established corridor into a modern, high-capacity backbone designed to support growing demand for data across East Africa.

The new route connects key infrastructure hubs in Nairobi, Kisumu and Kampala, creating a more resilient and scalable pathway for traffic moving inland from subsea cable landing stations in Mombasa.

The new route forms part of Seacom’s broader investment in East Africa’s digital infrastructure.

“We are strengthening a route that already plays a central role in regional connectivity. We are ensuring that this segment is served by a high-capacity, carrier-grade network that can support the scale and performance today’s digital economy requires,” says Seacom chief technology officer David Kariuki.

“We upgraded our IP network in Uganda last year, and this route builds on that foundation by improving both capacity and quality across a key corridor.”

The Nairobi-Kampala corridor underpins a wide range of industries, from telecommunications and financial services to cloud platforms and digital commerce.

As these sectors expand, demand for consistent, low-latency connectivity continues to rise, with the new route designed to meet that demand by improving access to international bandwidth and enabling faster, more reliable data movement between markets.

“The biggest impact will be felt across the broader Internet economy. From service providers and banks to cloud operators and e-commerce platforms, organisations depend on stable connectivity to operate and grow. This investment directly improves their ability to deliver services,” Kariuki continued.

The route also strengthens regional integration by providing a more efficient pathway into neighbouring markets such as Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan and supporting cross-border digital services and regional trade.

To improve reliability, given the historical challenges along the corridor, Seacom implemented automated switched optical network, which allows traffic to be rerouted automatically in under 50 ms if a fault occurs, thereby ensuring continuity of service even in the event of multiple network disruptions.

“Service availability has been a major consideration. By managing and controlling more of the route ourselves, and adding automated switching, we can maintain uptime even when there are breaks along the network,” Kariuki explained.

The route delivers latency of about seven ms to Nairobi and 13 ms to Mombasa, supporting real-time applications such as financial transactions, cloud workloads and enterprise services.

In addition to the traditional A104 corridor, Seacom will be using an alternative pathway through Narok, Kericho and Kisumu. This dual-route approach reduces dependence on a single path and strengthens overall network resilience.

A further differentiator is the use of two border crossings, Malaba and Busia, instead of one.

“This reduces the risk of a single point of failure and improves network stability for customers operating across borders.”

Further, the Nairobi-Kampala route has been built with future demand in mind.

“At launch, the network activates 1 Tb/s of capacity, with the ability to scale up to 30 Tb/s as demand grows. This allows Seacom to expand capacity quickly without requiring major redesigns or additional infrastructure builds.

“Demand for data in East Africa is accelerating. We have designed this network to scale alongside that growth, so clients can increase capacity as their needs evolve,” said Kariuki.

Built on Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing technology, the route supports a range of high-capacity interfaces, including 1GE, 10GE, 100GE and 400GE, enabling flexible connectivity options for enterprises, service providers and hyperscale customers.

“As demand for digital services continues to grow across East Africa, the Nairobi-Kampala route provides a more resilient and scalable foundation for connectivity, supporting economic growth and enabling the next phase of the region’s digital expansion.”