Johannesburg, 03 Feb 2009
BT announced today that it has been awarded both individual Electronic Communications Services (i-ECS) and Electronic Communication Network Services (i-ECNS) licences in South Africa, paving the way for the company to broaden the range of networked IT services it provides in the country.
The i-ECNS licence provides similar provisioning rights as presently held by local telecommunications incumbents and the major local mobile operators. This development is part of the broader opening up of the telecommunications market with several value added network services (VANS) operators receiving licences.
Keith Matthews, country manager of BT South Africa (see photo attached), said: “Awarding of the licences represents another milestone for BT in South Africa. The new licences will allow us to further expand our portfolio and offer a comprehensive set of networked IT services to our existing and new customers.”
BT has been operating in the South African market with a VANS licence. Last year, under pressure from the key players in the telecommunications sector, the Telecommunications Regulator Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) decided to convert the VANS licences into individual i-ECNS and i-ECS licences.
“This year has already been designated as the 'year of bandwidth' in South Africa as the telecommunications market deregulates. We welcome this new opportunity to deliver the full spectrum of our global know-how and technologies to this important market,” added Matthews.
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