WACS Arrives Near Cape Town

Submarine communications cable the West Africa Cable System (WACS) has landed in Yzerfontein, near Cape Town. The 14,000km cable, which is expected to dock at 14 different landing points along the Western coast of Africa, before linking to the Canary Islands, Portugal and the UK, is set to commence commercial service in 1Q12. The total capacity of the system is 5.12Tbps, and at least 500Gbps will be lit at launch.

Investors in the WACS cable include South African telcos MTN, Vodacom, Telkom South Africa, Broadband Infraco and Neotel.


Angus Hay, head of strategic business development at Neotel, commented: ‘This is the dawn of a new era in the South African telecommunications industry. 


Since the launch of SEACOM and later EASSy, international bandwidth to South Africa has increased. The landing of WACS sets Neotel ahead of its competitors, as it is the only telecommunications operator that has direct access to all five undersea cables landing in South Africa: WACS, SEACOM, EASSy, SAT-3 and SAFE. 


For Neotel this means that our customers are highly unlikely to experience downtime since the traffic can be moved from one cable to another in case of any cable failure. The level of redundancy, reliability and security will now increase’.

Telecom Namibia Ready to Join WACS

Telecom Namibia says it is ‘ready’ to connect the country to the West African Cable System (WACS), a consortium high speed submarine system linking Africa to Europe, which it hopes will lead to higher-bandwidth, cheaper data and voice services for all end-users. The USD600 million fibre-optic cable has reached the shores of Namibia, whilst Telecom has already deployed infrastructure to link its landing station at Swakopmund to its domestic network and expects that commercial services could be launched by the second quarter of this year, reports local newspaper New Era. The project will give Namibia its first direct access to global submarine cable networks.

The WACS consortium consists of twelve companies: Angola Cables, Broadband Infraco, Cable & Wireless, Congo Telecom, MTN, Office Congolais des Postes et Telecommunications, Portugal Telecom/Cabo Verde Telecom, Tata Communications/Neotel, Telecom Namibia, Telkom SA, Togo Telecom and Vodacom. The main contractor is Alcatel-Lucent.

Neotel Launches Prepaid Broadband

South African telco Neotel has launched pre-paid broadband services on its network, it has reported.

Branded ‘NeoConnect Lite Pre-paid’, the service incorporates voice telephony, SMS and basic internet connectivity. The service will be delivered over Neotel’s fixed-wireless service. Utilising a NeoConnect Lite desktop phone, which doubles up as an internet access device, NeoConnect Lite Pre-paid supports peak data speeds of 156kbps, although Neotel have clarified that realistic speeds will be between 50kbps and 70kbps.

The company confirmed that it is currently developing pre-paid services for its NeoConnect Prime and NeoFlex products. Wandile Zote, head of corporate communication at Neotel commented: ‘For many South Africans, the ability to choose pre-paid as a payment method is not just a lifestyle option - it's an economic necessity’. Neotel first signified its intention to launch its pre-paid broadband service in March 2010.

Neotel Launnches Flexible Internet Package

Neotel has launched an uncapped internet access package under the name 'NeoBroadband WiMAX'.

Neotel, which currently has WiMAX networks installed in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town and Durban, says that its new offering is a flexible solution that can be upgraded or downgraded to suit the needs of the user; 1Mbps, 2Mbps, 5Mbps and 8Mbps download speeds are available.

Neotel promises a five-day turnaround time for installation.

ICASA Releases Bids For Spectrum Bands

South Africa’s Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) has released its ‘Document on Spectrum Licensing Framework Regulations and Invitation To Apply for 2.6GHz and 3.5GHz Bands’.

Under the new guidelines, bidding will start at ZAR750,000 (USD98,000). ICASA requires 2.6GHz licensees to achieve population coverage of 50% within two years of being granted spectrum.

Vodacom, MTN, Cell C, Neotel and Telkom are all reported to be keen to get their hands on the spectrum, which is suitable for the deployment of Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology.

SA Delays Number Portability To Test Systems

The second and final stage of the introduction of fixed line number portability, which will allow individual Telkom customers to switch networks without losing their numbers, has been delayed by about five weeks. The first phase of fixed line number portability, also known as geographic number portability (GNP), kicked off in May 2009; the second, more important phase, which allows individual numbers to be ported, was meant to begin this week. But a well-placed industry source says implementation has been delayed until 26 April to accommodate final testing of IT systems, among other things.

The Number Portability Company, which already handles number porting for the mobile operators, will manage individual GNP on behalf of the operators. Vodacom, MTN and Cell C have agreed to dilute their shareholding in the company to allow Telkom and Neotel to become shareholders, too. It is understood the deal has already been agreed to by the mobile operators and is now awaiting signature by Telkom and Neotel before full implementation can begin. The Number Portability Company has implemented the necessary systems and is understood to be ready to begin porting fixed line numbers.

Neotel Plans Individual Fixed Line Number Portability

South African second network operator (SNO) Neotel has announced plans to implement individual fixed line number portability in April 2010.

Angus Hay, executive head of technology at Neotel, said: ‘The porting of numbers in blocks of 10,000 or 1,000 has been available for some months now. Unfortunately that excluded many businesses, as it is only relevant to very large corporations. We are already testing 100 block porting, and as of April will be able to do 100 block and individual porting for any customer.’

Neotel believes that the introduction of individual number porting will increase competition in the sector, challenging fixed line incumbent Telkom South Africa’s dominant market position. Hay added: ‘This is what South Africans have been waiting for, the ability to port their individual fixed line telephone numbers. This truly puts consumers in charge of their own destiny when it comes to service providers.’

Neotel Academy Graduates 24 Students

South Africa's first converged telecommunications operator Neotel today announced the graduation of 24 students from its Academy. The Academy was launched in 2007 in response to South Africa's continued skills shortage in the telecommunications industry and to bridge the gap between what the industry is delivering and what is truly needed in terms of skills development. During the graduation ceremony, which is taking place at Neotel's Midrand Campus, the students will be addressed by Deputy Minister of Communications, Dina Pule.

The academy in conjunction with National Electronic Media Institute of South Africa (NEMISA) was designed to develop a pool of expertise in the ICT sector in response to the current skills shortage and competency gaps of the growing telecommunications market in South Africa. It is run in close collaboration with and is accredited by ISETT Seta.

It was launched in 2007 with 10 students as part of a pilot programme. The full academy was launched in March 2008 with 27 students enrolled. Entry requirements to the academy are Grade 12 Certificate and N6 from technical college in Electrical Engineering.

According to Ajay Pandey, MD and CEO of Neotel, the National Electronic Media Institute of South Africa (NEMISA) and Neotel worked closely in aligning the course to ensure the qualification is equivalent to NQF5 as there is currently no telecommunications qualification at that level. "Today is yet another milestone in the short history of Neotel in South Africa as we graduate 24 learners from the first full-time Neotel Telecommunications Learnership Programme," says Pandey.

"The course is designed to prepare graduates to be effective from the day they enter the work place," he says. "We are planning on increasing the level of collaboration with Further Education and Training Colleges (FETs) to allow them to eventually offer the course nationally. This project is much broader than the scope of our licence obligations to increase the impact we have on society." The Academy is aimed at establishing and maintaining a centre of excellence for the development and advancement of telecommunications skills in South Africa. "As the innovative telecommunications challenger, we know that the right high-quality skills are critical to us in achieving our objectives in the market," says Pandey. "We therefore established this Academy to develop a broad pool of telecommunications skills and are actively working to create sustainable employment opportunities for learners by equipping them with everything they need to operate effectively in the sector."

Neotel plans to expand the academy to include entrepreneurial development, which in turn will empower them to run projects such as internet cafes and sell community phone services.

"The academy is part of Neotel's strategy to create and develop local talent. It is profoundly sustainable, with a strong emphasis on technical and professional training, mentorship and on-the-job training and reiterates our commitment to incubate skills and develop local top talent that will respond to the needs of the market immediately," says Pandey. "We are confident that the Neotel Academy will make a meaningful contribution by accelerating access to new technologies, empowering the people of South Africa and creating a better life for all its citizens," he concludes.

Tata Takes Control Of Neotel

India's Tata Communications has bought the 30 percent stake in South African fixed-line operator Neotel previously held by local investors Eskom and Transnet. This makes Tata the controlling shareholder in Neotel. Tata Communications CEO N Srinath said the acquisition reaffirms Tata Communications commitment to its expansion and investment plans in the emerging regions of Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Neotel CEO Ajay Pandey said it is very encouraging that a global telecommunications giant continues to invest in South Africa and Neotel in particular with the current economic climate in South Africa. No financial details of the takeover were released. 

MTN, Neotel Plan to Build Fibre-Optic Network

South African operators MTN and Neotel have signed a joint agreement to co-build a national long-distance fibre-optic network. The network will cover a distance of 5,000 km, connecting the major centres across South Africa.

The first route of the national fibre network will extend from Gauteng to KwaZulu-Natal, incorporating Pietermaritzburg and Durban. Construction of the first leg is expected to commence in the first week of March 2009 with a completion date scheduled before the Fifa World Cup 2010.

The network will provide both MTN and Neotel with bandwidth capacity to carry more voice and data traffic at higher speeds over greater distances using less power than copper cables. MTN said that its initial network will have a capacity in the Tbps range. The initial route will assist MTN and Neotel to link up with the undersea cables such as Eassy and Seacom currently under construction along the eastern coast of Africa.