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Northgate Office Park installs a 'first' complete wireless communications infrastructure


Johannesburg, 05 Feb 2007

Songimali Communications has project managed and implemented a fully fledged converged wireless IP telephony network for Northgate Office Park, a business park close to the Randburg area in Gauteng that will house 70 businesses.

This radical new development is the 'first' of its kind, ie an office park only utilising a wireless platform, and represents the first 'last mile' to be installed without using the facilities and capabilities of Telkom SA.

The network, built on a fibre backbone, consists of more than 150 1Gb VLANs (virtual local area networks) and provides each business in the park with voice and data services.

Each business unit is equipped with five Snom VOIP telephones powered by POE (Power over Ethernet) switches to ensure uptime at all times. The office block backbone is linked via a 34km 20Mb full duplex line to the hub of Gateway Communications in Woodmead using a radio 'line of sight' link capability via a relay situated on a tower in the centre of Randburg. Gateway Communications subsequently services all inbound and outbound traffic from its hub in the conventional way.

Every block (12 separate businesses) in the office park will run their IP telephony services from their own Asterisk Open Source IP PBX, provided, installed and maintained by Songimali Communications, offering sophisticated features such as voice recording, follow me, MP3 music on-hold, integrated voice response (IVR) and messaging services.

"We were unable to obtain the required communications capabilities from Telkom SA to match our occupancy needs," commented Corrie Vorster of RVR, one of the developers of the Northgate Office Park.

"We were told that the solution we needed had not been undertaken previously; nevertheless, we still believed it was worth the risk. In practice we are ecstatic over the result and the service received from Songimali; and the investment we have made using this very latest technology will be recovered by an addition per m2 charge."

"Apart from being delighted at the outcome of this unique project," added Roelof van Wyk, a Director of Songimali Communications, "there is an interesting result from a Telkom perspective. Telkom still receive revenues for the office park from the charges levied via Gateway Communications; however, it does not need to expend money and resources in laying any infrastructure to the office park nor provide any ongoing maintenance services and, the tenants are not disrupted by any Telkom installation activity. Thus, this solution is a win-win situation for all parties and one likely to be replicated many times elsewhere in the country."

The office park already has its initial tenants installed and working utilising their new communications infrastructures. There is still office space available starting at 60 square meters. For more information, go to www.northgateofficepark.co.za.

For further information, please contact Ronald Gill at telephone (082) 856 9324; fax (012) 665 2918; e-mail ronald@songimali.co.za.

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Gateway Communications

Gateway Communications is a leading provider of communications services to telephone operators and corporations across Africa, delivering the highest quality, most comprehensive and affordable international communications services on the continent.

Gateway is passionate about doing business in Africa and strives to deploy world-class communications infrastructure to facilitate pan-African and international communications and trade. With almost 15 years operating experience and a network spanning the continent, it is well on the way to achieving this goal.

The company alreadys deliver a comprehensive suite of communications services to over 79 telephone operators and around 900 corporations working in Africa.

Songimali Communications

Songimali Communications is a South African company that implements technological advanced solutions to save its customers money on data and voice communication costs. It was established because current communication solutions in South Africa are very expensive and also feature limited. The company is owned and managed by a mix of young and experienced technology enthusiasts who believe in open source communication technology.

Songimali is able to design and deliver communication solutions ranging from standard open source driven PBX (Private Branch Exchange) systems to a fully fledged VOIP (voice over Internet Protocol) platform that is reliable, very flexible, feature-rich and above all cost-effective.

Its products are customised to fit every customer's individual needs, from the smallest home office business right up to enterprise level.

The company believes open source technology can be implemented at an affordable price and if supported efficiently by the correct hardware, network infrastructure and end-user support, can make a huge difference in the way communication technology is exploited in South Africa.

The term 'songimali' is Zulu for 'saving money'.

Editorial contacts

Paul Booth
Global Research Partners
(082) 568 1179
pabooth@mweb.co.za