Dimension Data (DiData) has unveiled a new company, WirelessCo, which will build and operate an open access carrier-grade WiFi network.
WirelessCo will be 51% owned by Dimension Data, with MultiChoice holding the balance, although the deal is subject to approval from SA's Competition Commission. At the same time, the company announced Internet Solutions (IS) would buy some of MultiChoice's Internet business, MWeb.
WirelessCo will be headquartered in Johannesburg and combine the WiFi network assets of DiData-owned WiFi provider AlwaysOn, together with the WiFi assets of MWeb WiFi, says the company. "The AlwaysOn retail consumer business will continue to operate as a separate entity. Employees of MWeb WiFi, as well as AlwaysOn employees who manage the AlwaysOn network, will be employed by WirelessCo."
Derek Wilcocks, CEO of Dimension Data Middle East and Africa, says WirelessCo's WiFi network will be a step forward to a "WiFi first" service as a viable and cost-effective alternative to traditional data communication in a mobile environment. This will provide more South Africans with affordable Internet access, he notes. "This company is committed to making the necessary investments to ensure WiFi is available everywhere and to everyone, driving digital inclusion for all of the country."
MWeb purchase
As DiData drives digital inclusion, it has also announced IS will buy MWeb's core network assets, MWeb Business and Optinet, although MWeb Connect will retain its consumer ISP business and MWeb's WiFi business does not form part of this agreement.
The transaction, also subject to competition approval, will see IS take over MWeb Connect's network assets and bandwidth contracts, and it will also manage Optinet and MWeb Business. MWeb Business, Optinet and MWeb Connect engineering and support employees will transfer with the transaction to IS.
Wilcocks says MWeb Business and IS will be able to service this market segment more competitively, and ensure the ICT offerings for this sector are designed and supported in a way that is economically viable, and support them in operating and growing their business.
"There is a strong strategic and cultural fit between MWeb Business and Internet Solutions, and the combined entities will have the scale to compete in the small and medium enterprise (SME) market, while the SME market will benefit from access to a wider range of services, more market competitive prices, and greater support for their ICT."
Founded in 1997, MWeb Connect is an unlisted entity, ultimately owned by JSE-listed Naspers. MWeb's Optinet will continue to provide services to Naspers group companies.
MWeb Business is focused on SA's SME market and has 5 000 clients across a range of vertical market segments, while IS provides ICT services to the corporate, SME, public sector and wholesale markets.
The parties did not reveal a purchase price.
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