Johannesburg, 23 Feb 2007
In 2005, IST Telecom signed a multimillion-rand contract with the National Electricity Corporation (NEC) in Sudan.
Phase one of this project was successfully completed in 2006 and the division is currently finalising the scope of phase two of the project.
This exciting deal gave IST Telecom an opportunity to spread its wings further north into Africa. IST designed and installed a wireless broadband network that enables the NEC in Sudan to provide its customers with the ability to purchase prepaid electricity from vending machines located at seven sites across the capital city of Khartoum.
Before this network was installed, the Sudanese people had to travel several kilometres to purchase electricity. Now, after IST installed the wireless network, they can get it closer to home.
The vending machines communicate directly to a database at the NEC's head office where the prepaid voucher numbers are generated. Given the harsh desert terrain of Sudan, wireless technology was the most cost-effective way of realising this ideal.
Phase two of this project includes the installation, commissioning, testing and hand-over of the wireless network, expanded to a further 25 NEC offices. The network is based on WiMax technology, using radios and a base station supplied by a Canadian company called WiLAN. The spin-off from this network is to allow NEC to use voice over IP (VOIP) services. IST also installed VOIP gateways and telephones.
IST Telecom faced several challenges during the first phase of this project, including cultural sensitivity issues, the extreme climate conditions and a six-day work week (starting on Saturday and ending on Thursday). The lessons learnt will enable IST Telecom to deliver the second phase of this project with much more ease.
The project in Sudan has given IST Telecom the credentials to tender for other WiMax network project opportunities.
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