A single court judgement has thrown the South African telecommunications market wide open to hundreds of competitors who are now allowed to build their own telecoms infrastructure, according to Jannie van Zyl, group CEO of iBurst. He says to survive the growing competition, telecoms companies must carve out a niche for themselves and focus on customer services.
Van Zyl points out that between 200 and 500 companies will compete for a slice of the telecoms pie, making the market a far tougher place to compete in. To survive the coming onslaught, he advises existing operators to reposition themselves by developing a tailored offering as well as prioritising customer service.
“Today, selling raw connectivity is no longer enough, since bandwidth will quickly be turned into a commodity. We need to deliver a suite of innovative products to drive this market and capture the loyalty of our customers,” he states.
To thrive in the competitive market, Van Zyl advises telecoms companies to refocus on underserviced markets, such as the small to medium enterprise sector. He adds that operators need to adapt with more aggressive and direct sales operations.
“We're in for the fight of our lives, as are the incumbent fixed-line and mobile operators. It's going to be a challenging but exciting era in the country's telecom industry,” concludes Van Zyl.
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