Open source VOIP and IPT telecommunications service provider Connection Telecom has merged with Digital Connect, a division of the Digital Solutions Group. The merged entity will trade under the Connection Telecom banner.
The merged Connection Telecom, founded by ex-Verizon staff Rob Lith and Steve Davies in 2004, is now owned by Lith and Davies (25%), Digital Solutions Group (45%) and BEE partner Fast Communication Systems (30%), headed up by another ex-Verizon staffer, Dave Meintjies.
Fast Communications was previously Connection Telecom's holding company, having acquired the organisation in March.
Digital Solutions Group head Yaron Assabi has been appointed CEO of Connection Telecom. Meintjies is serving as its chairman.
To date, Connection Telecom has been solely Cape Town-based. This, says Lith, was one of the driving factors behind the merger.
"By 2007, we had built up a significant base of resellers, integrators and partners that we worked with, but had no direct presence from which we could expeditiously deliver goods, and any support had to be done on a remote basis. One of the partners and integrators we were working with that started shining above the rest was Digital Connect."
Connection Telecom had been considering setting up a Johannesburg operation, but the "synergies between the two" and the combination of strengths and skills made a merger a viable option. Both companies have skilled Digium certified engineers and Connection Telecom holds the African rights to distribute Digium products.
Notes Lith: "We saw that if we merged the two entities, we'd have the national coverage we wanted and be a more powerful force to deliver solutions to partners, resellers and customers."
The merger was effective as of 1 January.
"While our vision remains the same - to deliver alternative IP communication solutions that free business from the proprietary world and its associated vendor lock-in - going forward, customers will now have access to a broader product set, greater local support and, of course, increased understanding of the telecommunications landscape to ensure their company remains competitive," says Assabi.
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