Altech and CityNet
signs agreement
ADSL
South Africa (Broadband South Africa), 29 April
2007
South African IT company, Altech,
has signed an agreement with CityNet Wireless, an US-based
wireless service provider, and its global licensing partner,
CityNet Wireless International.
‘The agreement aims to enable
Altech to enter the broadband infrastructure and operator space
in sub-Saharan Africa, using the technology currently in
operation in more than 40 cities worldwide’ (Altech and CityNet
to provide broadband Internet access services, ICTWorld, April
2007).
In other words, the agreement
will enable Altech to provide Internet access services in
sub-Saharan Africa, including South Africa.
Why sign an agreement
with CityNet and not a local service provider
instead?
Altech has good reasons
for signing the agreement with CityNet which
include:
-
Global
experience – According to Altech CEO,
Craig Venter: “Broadband network delivery systems
are now at the centre of all global digital
communications” (Altech and CityNet to provide
broadband Internet access services, ICTWorld, April
2007).
In other words, it
makes sense to get a partner with global
experience.
-
Cost
effective – Also according to Venter:
“Our choice of CityNet Wireless as our technology
partner in this deal reflects our strategy to
expand into broadband markets in Africa, where
cost-efficient use of advanced IP-based wireless
networks is the key to meeting massive pent-up
demand” (Altech and CityNet to provide broadband
Internet access services, ICTWorld, April
2007).
‘CityNet Wireless,
which has been deploying wireless WiFi mesh
networks globally since 2003, including densely
populated cities, such as Houston, Panama City and
Mexico City, says that it has been successful in
reducing the traditional cost of urban networking,
using a combination of standard WiFi protocols,
mesh architecture for redundancy and network
flexibility, and network management software tools’
(Altech and CityNet to provide broadband Internet
access services, ICTWorld, April 2007).
In other words,
teaming up with CityNet enables Altech to provide
cost-effective Internet access
services.
ADSL South
Africa (Broadband South Africa) welcomes Altech’s move
since it will help to introduce cost-effective broadband
Internet access services to more people South of the
Sahara Desert.
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