With individual number portability a reality, local alternative operator Vox Datapro is taking aim at Telkom's leased-line customers, by releasing its Zeppelin product.
Vox's new offering targets the higher end small and medium-sized business, which Vox Datapro MD Gary Sweidan says will provide an alternative to traditional leased-line solutions, like diginet, at a fraction of the price.
Zeppelin is essentially a 4Mbps wireless solution over microwave technology, and allows for both voice and data. “It's a point-to-point (P2P) solution, and the offering uses a licensed spectrum band,” explains Sweidan.
Traditionally, P2P offerings in businesses come at a hefty price. However, as dedicated services, there is very little contention on the lines, and interference and downtime is expected to be minimal.
Vox is selling Zeppelin to customers for R19 950; far less than a diginet line in the same category would cost a customer. The company says that, while the pricing is designed for the SME market, enterprise will not be excluded. “Enterprise customers are using it now, but primarily for branch connectivity,” notes Sweidan.
Zeppelin will have a contention ratio of about three to one, and Vox promises a silver service-level agreement.
The full price includes a 4Mbps wireless link, 4Mbps Internet access, a router, gateway and free number porting.
Bring your number
The release of the product follows hot on the heels of the regulator's decision to allow individual geographic number portability. The ability to port large blocks of numbers has been available for some time; however, getting access to small number blocks, or even single numbers, will be a boon for Vox.
Vox will test the first ported number today, following weeks of testing between it and Telkom. “We finished testing with Telkom yesterday and we are ready to start porting soon,” he explains.
Sweidan says that, while the testing process has been long, Telkom has done everything it can to make sure that when numbers are ported, everything works. “They have turned over every stone, and in the end it will only be good for everyone,” he adds.
Customers hoping to get access to the new Zeppelin dedicated service will be able to take their numbers along with them. However, Sweidan says clients are also free to choose a new number, either geographic (011, 012, etc), or an 087 number.
Sweidan says there are a number of customers ready to port onto the service.
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