ETL Systems Helps Liquid Telecom Ensure Continual Connectivity in Africa with StingRay RF over Fibre Redundancy System

ETL Systems, a global designer and manufacturer of RF signal distribution equipment for satellite communications,

has deployed its StingRay RF over Fibre 1+1 Redundancy solution for leading pan-African telecoms group Liquid Telecom, a subsidiary of Econet Global.

Liquid Telecom is a leading communications services and solutions provider across 13 countries in Eastern, central and Southern Africa that serves carrier, enterprise and retail customers with high-speed, reliable connectivity and digital services.

It provides the African gateway to the Intelsat EPIC satellite IS33e at its teleport in Krugersdorp, Johannesburg. However, with 200 metres between its RF cabin and the main equipment room and frequent lightning storms, signal loss and equipment resilience were proving challenging.

ETL Systems' StingRay RF over Fibre solution provides fibre connectivity for RF signal distribution between an antenna and a remote control room. Capable of delivering connections for links up to 10 kilometres apart without the need for additional amplification, it drastically reduces signal loss, ensuring a much higher quality feed. The 1+1 redundancy system provides additional resilience for uplink and downlink transmissions over fibre. If one fibre link fails, the signal is automatically switched to the redundant path.

"Liquid Telecom is doing amazing things for connectivity in Africa, delivering a range of services across the region," commented Andrew Bond, Sales and Marketing Director, ETL Systems. "It is always striving to ensure it is providing the best quality possible across all of its services and signal loss was simply not an option."

This implementation is the latest in a series of implementations of this solution across a range of Liquid Telecom's sites, which includes connectivity for Kwese TV and VSAT hubs serving African consumers with broadband connections.

"The StingRay RF over Fibre system makes a massive difference to our efficiency and quality of service," commented Scott Mumford, Liquid Telecom's Group Managing Executive of Satellite and VSAT. "It was also really important for us that any solution should be able to withstand harsh physical environments."