Nairobi — Internet firm UUNET Kenya has completed its internal migration from satellite powered data solutions to the Seacom undersea cable.

It has also doubled the bandwidth capacity of all its customers.

Managing director Tom Omariba says the migration involved installation and performance testing of equipment being used to manage data distribution from the fibre optic cable.

UUNET Kenya also plans to get additional bandwidth capacity from the Teams and Eassy cables, in which its parent company, MTN Business, has a 30 per cent stake.

"We have given our customers double capacity at the current price. However, we will review our pricing once Teams and Eassy cables come on board," said Mr Omariba.

Seacom and Teams have already landed at Mombasa. The country still expects the LION and EASSy fibre optic sea cables -- next year.

UUNET Kenya has over 600 corporate customers. They will enjoy the benefits of fibre networks, as opposed to satellite, including lower charges.

The company has been operating on an Internet Protocol (IP)/Multi Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) network across Kenya.

Recently, it installed new core and multi-service edge routers to boost its network and meet demand for fibre capacity.

The equipment, from Juniper Network, is part of Ksh680 million (about $10 million) the company has used to upgrade its equipment to take advantage of undersea cables.

"Juniper will advance the evolution of UUNET Kenya's network with a routing portfolio that combines IP/MPLS stability, security and good service," said Anthony Laing, head of service provider networking, XON Systems, during a visit to UUNET's Parkside offices in Nairobi.

The company commissioned XON Systems Professional Services, a Juniper Service Provider Elite Partner from South Africa, to assist UUNET Kenya with the design and migration to the new network.

Meanwhile, Seacom, Uganda Telecom Ltd (UTL) and Rwandatel S.A (RTL) have announced a partnership that extends the reach of international broadband capacity across East Africa.

Through concurrent deals, UTL and RTL, both subsidiaries of the Libyan Africa Portfolio (LAP) Green Networks, have purchased a significant amount of international broadband capacity from Seacom.

And Seacom has secured a backhaul solution for Rwanda on the two regional players' terrestrial networks between Kampala, Uganda and Kigali, Rwanda.