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, is now live in Kinshasa in the DRC.
The 2MW-capable facility is described as the DRC’s first live open-access, carrier-neutral and Uptime Institute Tier III-certified data centre, with ISO27001 post live certification on track for Q3 2024.
Clients are reportedly already establishing and installing in the facility and all major fibre network providers are present to provide vibrant interconnect to tenants.
The facility offers integrated core digital infrastructure solutions comprising tailored colocation services together with a wide range of reliable connectivity and peering options. Power to the data centre is fed from utility sourced from hydro generation, ensuring environmentally sustainable power generation in tandem with low Power Utilisation Effectiveness (PUE).
OADC Texaf Digital, located within TEXAF’s Silikin Village digital hub, is operated by the WIOCC Group company OADC. Configured with 1,500 square metres of IT white space to accommodate more than 550 racks, it delivers colocation, interconnect and peering services to support the colocation needs of enterprise clients, content distribution networks, and local and international cloud providers.
Underlining a message highlighted by the project partners, Mohammed Bouhelal, Managing Director of OADC Texaf DRC, says: « OADC Texaf Digital is central to boosting many sectors of the DRC’s economy, creating rich and vibrant digital ecosystems, and providing content distribution networks and cloud content providers with access to a quality peering location in the country. »
Over 12 leading national and international carriers connected with the banking sector are said to be among the leading adopters of OADC Texaf solutions.
The new facility does appear to have been launched a little later than originally hoped. We reported in February last year that the initial phase of OADC Kinshasa was expected to go live in Q2 2023.