It leverages power transmission infrastructure in the region for a 7,000 km aerial fiber network to build out backbones and cross-border connections in Benin, Nigeria and Togo.38 Liquid Telecom's 50,000 km fiber network stretches from the north of Uganda to South Africa and includes the East Africa Fiber Ring, the first regional ring on the continent.39 It can also seamlessly connect clients to five main sub-sea cable systems regardless of if they are landlocked or not. Liquid operates in Botswana, DR Congo, Kenya, Lesotho, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Wholesalers such as Liquid Telecom and Phase 3 have been instrumental in negotiating rights of way, transit fees and other costs, thus bringing the overall cost of interconnecting countries down.