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OTEL On the Hunt for a Few Good Partners in African Telecom

DIDs FEATURED ARTICLE

OTEL On the Hunt for a Few Good Partners in African Telecom

 
November 06, 2015

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  By Steve Anderson, Contributing Writer

When considering the idea of developing markets, it's hard to go far without thinking of Africa. It's a market with an almost shocking amount of opportunity contained therein, and for the astute, telecom markets in the region represent some of the biggest opportunities around.


South African firm OTEL—operating in the region for over a decade now—is opening up some clear opportunity throughout the region for entrepreneurs in the Western Cape region eager to get in on the rapid growth. OTEL offers a variety of services ranging from voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) to data solutions like high-speed broadband and Web-enabled switchboards. With all these solutions on hand, about all that's left for OTEL to offer is access, and that's got it on the hunt for dealers, installers and other authorized agents looking to bring the OTEL brand into places it has yet to reach.

OTEL also handles much of the last-mile connectivity in the region, linking the individual businesses and installations to larger lines in the area, giving the various firms in the region access to OTEL's services. OTEL CEO Rad Jankovic notes that OTEL's last-mile service is the biggest help in beating the Internet speed issues often found in South Africa. But even this requires what Jankovic referred to as “local talent” to help drive that last-mile connectivity.

Image via Shutterstock

That “local talent” would be particularly helpful, but OTEL's not resting on its laurels. Several OTEL executives are already involved in industry lobbying organizations like the Wireless Application Providers' Association of SA and the Internet Service Providers' Association of SA.

The African region is a hotbed for development, because many of these systems are brand new to the region. While mature markets like Europe and the United States have been engaging in these systems for years in some cases, these are systems only recently arrived in Africa and other such markets. There's likely other opportunities beyond OTEL, including for direct inward dialing (DID) and other such services, as well as comparable opportunities with OTEL's competitors. Usually, most people think wireless when considering African telecom due to the wide geography of the region, but there are certainly cities enough where more conventional telecom opportunities can be put into play.  Additionally, with OTEL well-represented at the lobbying level, it may well have some extra advantages in terms of gaining municipal and other government contracts.

Still, in a developing market, there's commonly no shortage of opportunities for those willing to get in and get started. OTEL has no squeamishness about plunging into the market full-on, and those who get in with the company are likely to find a wagon hitched to a star.




Edited by Maurice Nagle
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