broadband « Convergence Partners

FibreCo investment presented at Brics summit by NEF

March 28th, 2013 | admin

Investment opportunities for fellow Brics nations in infrastructure development and industrialisation in South Africa were valued at over R33-billion, or $3.5-billion, National Empowerment Fund (NEF) CEO Philisiwe Mthethwa told delegates on the opening day of the fifth yearly Brics Summit. Referring to the telecommunication sector, she said “the IDC had transactions under consideration worth $5.7-billion, which included FibreCo, a joint venture between Cell C, Convergence Partners and Dimension Data, and which was rolling out a long-haul open-access fibre-optic network”.

Tags: 0, Brics, broadband, Cell C, Convergence Partners, Dimension Data, FibreCo, fire-optic, IDC, industrialisation, infrastructure development, National Empowerment Fund, NEF, Philisiwe Mthethwa, Telecommunication
Posted in Media, News from the Group

Andile Ngcaba presents keynote at FTTH Council Africa, 2012

November 14th, 2012 | admin

Convergence Partners’ Chairman, Andile Ngacba, was the keynote speaker at the inaugural FTTH Council Africa broadband conference held in Cape Town on 12 and 13 November 2012. Andile outlined the four key pillars to broadband growth viz; regulatory and policy issues; technology (especially photonics); new business models; and skills development.

Tags: Andile Ngcaba, broadband, Convergence Partners, FTTH Council Africa, photonics
Posted in Media, News from the Group

Plessey awarded fibre contract for Emalahleni and Middelburg

September 20th, 2012 | admin

Plessey, a subsidiary of Dimension Data, has been awarded a contract for equipping Emalahleni (formerly Witbank) and Middelburg with fibre optical infrastructure for broadband access by February 2013. The fibre optic infrastructure project for the towns is part of a R3,5-billion national network that is being constructed over the next several years to provide broadband access to under-serviced areas and will involve laying some 121km of optical fibre in a ring around each town and in a link that connects them.

Tags: bandwidth, broadband, ducts, Emalahleni, fibre, Howard Earley, infrastructure, Internet connectivity, Middelburg, optical, Plessey, trenches
Posted in Media, News from the Group

SEACOM to be the first pan-African reseller of AMS-IX Amsterdam

September 18th, 2012 | admin

SEACOM, a pan-African ICT enabler, plans to expand its European connectivity to Amsterdam and will be the latest partner to join the AMS-IX reselling program. Joining the program gives SEACOM the opportunity to make connectivity to the AMS-IX platform more easily available for African Internet companies. Peering and IP interconnection between African and European networks will be greatly enhanced moving forward.

Tags: AMS-IX, Amsterdam, broadband, cable, connectivity, ICT, interconnect, Job Witterman, KIXP, Mark Simpson, Pan-African, SEACOM, submarine, TESPOK
Posted in Media, News from the Group, Official Press Releases

FibreCo completes first 600 km of R5 billion broadband network

September 13th, 2012 | admin

FibreCo Telecommunications, a joint venture between Cell C, Convergence Partners and Internet Solutions, has passed the halfway mark of the first link of its R5-billion national fibre-optic broadband network. The company said that the construction of 600 km of the targeted 1 000 km stretch from Johannesburg, through Bloemfontein, to East London has been completed.

Tags: Arif Hussain, broadband, Cell C, Construction, Convergence Partners, fibre optic, FibreCo, Internet Solutions, network, route, Telecommunications
Posted in Media, News from the Group

Internet Solutions MD, Saki Missaikos, interviewed on IS strategy going forward

August 23rd, 2012 | admin

Broadband connectivity is becoming cheaper in many countries and it has also easier for many businesses and individuals to access the Internet. One of the biggest players in the Internet connectivity industry is Internet Solutions (IS). IT News Africa recently took advantage of the opportunity to sit down with Managing Director Saki Missaikos to find out about IS’ strategy going forward, his vision for the future and the company’s further expansion into Africa.

Tags: Africa, bandwidth, broadband, connectivity, continent, data, Eassy, end-user, expansion, fibre, infrastructure, innovate, Internet, Internet Solutions, IS, licensing, PC, policies, Saki Missaikos, Sat3, SEACOM, smartphone, socio-economic, spectrum, tablet, technologists, WACS
Posted in Media, News from the Group

Seacom bolsters ‘New Internet’

August 21st, 2012 | admin

Seacom will look to the cloud to expand its local offering and help keep African content on the continent.
The shape of a “New Internet” is beginning to emerge in Africa, and Seacom’s recent statement that it is set to launch cloud computing services for the continent is pivotal to the movement.

Convergence Partners releases latest research report on Africa’s wireless broadband boom

June 28th, 2012 | admin

Convergence Partners released its latest research report titled: “Let my people go (online)”. The report details the significant changes in the African broadband landscape and resultant boom brought about by large scale investment in infrastructure in particular wireless broadband infrastructure.

Tags: broadband, fibre, Internet, radio spectrum, regulatory, Research report
Posted in Media, News from the Group, Research

IFC Invests in Convergence Partners Fund to Improve Africa’s Communications Infrastructure

June 13th, 2012 | admin

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, today announced an equity investment of $35 million in the Convergence Partners Communications Infrastructure Fund to support more rapid development of information and communications technologies across Africa. The fund is expected to play an important development role in Africa, where ICT infrastructure bottlenecks impede the growth of business and companies lack access to finance, especially risk capital and related expertise from investors that can help businesses succeed.

FibreCo breaks ground on its fibre optic cable network

May 7th, 2012 | admin

At a sod turning held today in Bloemfontein, FibreCo Telecommunications (FibreCo) broke-ground to start the construction phase of its much anticipated long-distance fibre optic network, which is set to revolutionise telecommunications in South Africa. The Company will invest up to R5 billion in infrastructure over the next five years, with a vision of ultimately building a network of over 12,000 km.
Construction has commenced on a 2,000 km link between Johannesburg and Cape Town, to be connected through Bloemfontein, East London and Port Elizabeth, and providing access to a wide range of rural and smaller urban areas along the route.