Ethiopia to get first private data centre

Addis Ababa, October 30, 2020 (FBC) – The Raxio Group (Raxio) is set to build Ethiopia’s first private uptime certified Tier III colocation data centre.

It has already acquired land at the ICT Park, in the outskirts of the capital city Addis Ababa, capacity media reports.

The site, purchased through Raxio’s fully owned subsidiary in Ethiopia, Raxio Data Centre PLC (Raxio Ethiopia) is set to be commission in the third quarter of 2021.

Once completed, Raxio Ethiopia will offer its customers an optimised environment for their IT equipment in a state of the art, modular facility, fully equipped with leading technology, security, AC/DC power compatibility and redundancy.

“Following the holistic reform that our nation is undergoing, new mobile operators are expected to be licensed soon; as a result, our internet usage is projected to rapidly grow,” said Sandokan Debebe, CEO of Industrial Parks Development Corporation.

“It is our belief that Raxio Ethiopia will play a paramount role in strengthening and developing the country’s digital infrastructure capabilities.”

In addition, customers will be able to cross connect with local and international carriers and other customers in specially designed meet-me rooms.

Additionally, Raxio Ethiopia will deploy its modules to accommodate an IT-capacity of 1.5MW over the next few years, with the possibility of doubling capacity to 3.0MW in line with demand.

“Raxio’s facilities enable companies such as mobile network operators, content delivery networks and financial service providers to run their critical IT systems in a built-for-purpose, always-on environment. With our module build, we will be able to support growth quickly and tailor our build to the needs of our customers,” added Robert Mullins, president of Raxio Group.

“Raxio Ethiopia will provide a critical and missing part of the nation’s digital infrastructure at an exciting and fast-evolving time in the broader telecoms sector in the country.”

The news comes as Raxio confirms plans to open 10-12 new sites, with the next facilities likely in Mozambique and Congo.

All 12 planned data centres will meet the uptime, redundancy and maintainability requirements established under the Tier III standard.