This Industry Viewpoint was authored by David Idle, CPO at Bigleaf Networks
Reliable internet access has become an essential component of modern life, powering businesses, education, and healthcare. Unfortunately, a significant gap continues between urban and rural communities in the United States. … [visit site to read more]
A second big data centre story this month has come from the Democratic Republic of Congo as it inaugurates a US$30 million data centre from Raxio Group, said to be Africa’s leading carrier-neutral Tier III data centre operator.
Located in Limete on the southeast of Kinshasa, the two-storey Raxio DRC1 spans 1,542 square metres and is the country’s largest data centre.
DRC1’s modern design can house up to 400 racks and can reliably deliver 1.5MW of IT power to customer equipment. The 24/7 ‘always-on’ facility is located along key fibre routes, delivering best-in-class colocation and connectivity services.
Multiple paths for power and cooling systems underpin the centre’s Tier III certification, while the usage of cutting edge components guarantees what are described as unmatched levels of efficiency and a commitment to sustainability principles.
The project was announced in 2021 and broke ground on construction in early 2023.
Robert Mullins, CEO of Raxio Group says: “DRC is one of Africa’s largest and fastest-growing markets with an existing latent demand for digital products and services that is forecast to soar in the coming years. With this facility, we are providing the critical infrastructure essential to supporting the digital economy and enhancing connectivity – and we expect to expand our presence in DRC through additional capacity and new facilities in years to come.”
The DRC launch aligns with the government’s Plan National du Numerique to make expansive digitalisation a catalyst for economic growth, competitiveness and social inclusion, while enabling a range of public and private sector cloud-based digital services.
The provision of data centres is one of the key pillars of the government plan, improving the digital landscape through reduced latency for real-time applications and providing a reliable backbone for mobile and internet connectivity.
This is not the only recent major data centre news from DRC. Less than two weeks ago we reported that the first phase of OADC Texaf Digital, a joint venture between African data centre company Open Access Data Centres (OADC) and TEXAF, a major long-term investor in the economy of the Democratic Republic of Congo, was live in Kinshasa.
Some automation, some optical, some energy, and some funding: … [visit site to read more]
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Three middle mile and longhaul expansions plus some new data center space in Manhattan: … [visit site to read more]
Nigeria’s Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, in collaboration with the country’s National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), has launched a data-capturing scheme for Nigerian farmers.
The idea is that by capturing accurate data on farmers, government can better understand their needs and allocate resources, ensuring targeted support to farmers and enhancing agricultural productivity.
The initiative therefore aims to create a comprehensive database of farmers to facilitate effective agricultural planning and intervention. The Nairametrics news site says that the partnership will leverage NIMC’s expertise in identity management to create a robust and reliable database.
A technical working group (TWG), which includes directors from various technical departments and a representative from NIMC, has been established to oversee the implementation of the scheme.
The TWG will build a detailed work plan with clear timelines, roles and responsibilities and design robust data collection tools to capture essential farmer information, such as personal identification, farm size, and crop types. There will also be training programmes for field officers and data collectors to ensure data accuracy and consistency.
This isn’t the first time Nigeria’s federal government has used communications and IT for the benefit of the agricultural sector. In July it announced that it was developing a web application aimed at training farmers on best practices for different crops. The app will be available in major languages.
In March we reported that MTN Nigeria and the Nigerian Meteorological Agency had announced plans to disseminate weather and climate information to farmers and other users across Nigeria.
Four bits of news touching four continents: … [visit site to read more]
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Four bits of news from the metro and last mile to keep up with as we start the week: … [visit site to read more]
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