TMCnet News
Zuku Spends Kshs 86 Million to Revive Voice Telephony Service(AllAfrica Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Wananchi Group's home entertainment and communication services brand Zuku, has kicked off a major project to revitalize its voice telephony service provision capacity. The project, which will involve the integration of a delivery platform technically known as a Soft Switch system, will soon see Wananchi Group providing fully-fledged voice telephony services. The provision of voice telephony services for all its Zuku Triple-play (broadband, multi-channel digital television and voice telephony) customers is part of a strategy by Wananchi Group to enhance its service delivery capacity. As part of the triple-play offering, Zuku delivers high quality voice services with free unlimited local on-net (Zuku to Zuku subscriber) phone calls. Speaking when he confirmed the ongoing soft switch integration at a cost of more than Kshs 86 million, Wananchi Group CEO Mr. Richard Alden, disclosed that upgrade works to support full voice telephony provision for Zuku triple-play subscribers' will be completed by end of this month. Once complete, Zuku triple-play subscribers will enjoy competitively priced voice telephony solutions delivered via fibre optic cables alongside Digital TV and Broadband data services. Not only is the new system capable of supporting its existing and projected subscriber growth, it also has capability of providing innovative tailor made products such as airtime bundles, weekend and holiday tariffs, Friends and Family packages to meet the unique telephony needs of our corporate and residential customers. "We are investing heavily to ensure that our Zuku triple-play customers continue to enjoy a true triple-play solution covering voice telephony, Digital TV and Broadband connection," Alden said. "At the conclusion of the ongoing system upgrade, our customers will be in a position to enjoy clear fixed telephony services at some of the most affordable local and international rates," he added. In East Africa, Wananchi Group is the only triple-play operator and runs on an innovative mix of fibre optic cable and WiMax networks backed by a countrywide satellite infrastructure. By revamping its voice telephony solution, Wananchi Group will be seeking to maintain an edge as an innovative player in the competitive communications market. The voice telephony upgrade comes hot on the heels of the recently completed Zuku broadband project, geared at modernizing its network infrastructure to achieve speeds of up to 50Mbps, providing speed and reliability for its subscribers'. At 50Mbps, Zuku is currently providing the fastest residential broadband speeds in line with the National Broadband Provision benchmarks. The Wananchi Group, established in 2007, is a leading provider of cable and internet services in East Africa. Under its consumer brand, Zuku, it offers the continent's pioneer triple play service, as well as region-wide satellite pay tv. Wananchi Programming handles the development and management of proprietary Zuku-branded channels including Zuku Afrika (general entertainment), Zuku Life (factual), Zuku Sports, Zuku Kids and five Zuku Movie channels. The triple play platform is the foundation of the group's home entertainment strategy. High capacity fibre optic network is currently being deployed directly to residential homes in Nairobi and Mombasa with construction to be extended to the other major cities in East Africa over the next few years. Using a combination of HFC and GPON technologies the company has launched the first real triple play offering in sub Saharan Africa with residential speeds currently up to 50Mbps. Copyright CIO East Africa. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). |