Howard Earley, COO of Plessey, a Convergence Partners investee says that Plessey has identified the opportunities that exist and need for a next-generation service provider with the ability to build the infrastructure required by the fast growing communications industry.
Convergence Partners investee, Seacom, reports that, in 2012, it will upgrade its East African submarine cable and increase capacity to meet rising demand from the African continent.
In addition, Seacom will be expanding its core backhaul routes, such as the network between Johannesburg and Mtunzini, in KwaZulu-Natal, and the Marseilles to London cable.
SEACOM and MAIN One, the only two privately funded and open-access based African submarine fibre optic cable systems, were awarded “Best Pan African Initiative” at the AfricaCom Awards 2011 ceremony held in Cape Town, South Africa, last week. The award recognises an initiative taken by an organisation or a group of organisations to improve telecommunications services at a regional or continental level.
Main One Chief Executive Officer, Funke Opeke, explained: “Through this partnership, Main One and SEACOM have extended their individual cable systems to the opposite coasts of Africa without the efforts required to construct brand new routes.
SEACOM, the pan-African ICT enabler, announced the appointment of Mark Simpson as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) with effect 5 September 2011. Brian Herlihy, the current CEO, will remain with the company as a member of the Board and take on the new role of Executive Director where he will focus on strategic projects essential for SEACOM’s continued success.
Convergence Partners investee company, Seacom has signed a master services agreement with Telecomunicações de Moçambique (TDM), the leading telecommunications service provider in Mozambique, which gives it access to the largest and most distributed fibre optic network in Mozambique as well as a diverse route into Zimbabwe and additional border presence into Malawi and South Africa.
Convergence Partners investee company Integrat continues its strategic role in the industry via the election of its Operations Director, Dieter van Rooyen, to the WASPA management committee for the 2011/12 term. WASPA is the Wireless Application Service Providers Association, a self-regulating body that governs mobile telecommunications value added services.
Integrat has been a member of WASPA since its inception in 2004 and has served on the management committee for two terms, says Norman Parkin, Integrat CEO, who has stepped down from the WASPA management committee.
On Friday 25 February 2011, Communications Minister Roy Padayachie met with the leaders of 30 of SA’s top ICT players to discuss cooperation between government and private sector in order to create jobs and enhance growth. Chairman of Convergence Partners and Dimension Data, Andile Ngcaba, attended the roundtable discussions, which were aimed at developing a 2020 vision for the South African ICT sector. Andile noted that applications and software are central to the ICT ecosystem and that opportunities exist for innovation and development in these fields. The potential for job creation opportunities would also arise from the production of new set top boxes, required for migration to digital television signal distribution in South Africa.
FibreCo Telecommunications (“FibreCo”), a partnership between Cell C, Internet Solutions and Convergence Partners, announced today that it will be developing an open-access long-haul terrestrial fibre optic broadband network as an answer to the need for national transmission infrastructure to meet the nation’s aspirations for world-class broadband connectivity.
FibreCo brings the ability to fund, deploy and manage a cost-effective high speed long-haul fibre network which will support the explosive growth in bandwidth requirements of the country anticipated over the coming years.
Convergence Partners’ investee company, wireless telecommunications company Communications Solutions (Comsol), made some observations on current trends in wireless network applications and ownership models in a recent article in Engineering News.
Comsol reports that wireless
telecoms networks and their maintenance are a growing focus among private clients, as the costs of owning and maintaining a private network soar.
Convergence Partners, together with investees Seacom, Integrat, SkillPod, Comsol, Inala, Bloodhound, Convergence Wireless Networks, New Dawn and Convergence Border Management Solutions will be exhibiting at Africa Com 2010 at the International Convention Centre in Cape Town on the 10th and 11th of November 2010. We will also be profiling the Convergence Partners Foundation and the great work it has done in 2010. AfricaCom is the largest Pan-African industry event in Africa, with more than 4000 attendees from more than 200 operator companies across Africa.
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