MTN Business is taking its first steps into the convergence game, which promises to be a hot commodity with the influx of local and international bandwidth.
The company will begin offering a managed IP PBX solution from today, which it says is the first step on its “convergence journey”. MTN Business' senior marketing and product manager Mike Fairon says the company aims to have a fully converged fixed-line and mobile offering within two years.
According to Fairon, the company's vision is to provide a single number for the corporate client, and manage all forms of communication, such as instant messaging and even SMS. “We are going to market with a number of products that will eventually become a fully converged solution,” he notes.
The company's first service, the managed PBX solution, comes on the back of MTN's acquisition of Verizon Business, which provided the operator with an extensive network, freeing it from the Telkom backhaul.
Fairon says the company also has interconnect agreements in place with all local operators and international players. “Typically, companies will need a huge capital investment for the PBX; we can now provide them with the PBX, without them having to pay out that money.”
Fairon admits the space will be competitive; however, he hopes that as an early entrant, the company will gain a competitive advantage.
MTN's acquisition of Verizon was expected to make waves in the local Internet service provider (ISP) market, and the company has been hard at work since the ISP was merged with the mobile operator's Network Solutions.
Earlier this year, MTN Business got off the ground by offering high-end clients a rebate on bandwidth. Customers who have 2Mbps access leased lines, or larger, were eligible for an additional 50% of their capacity at no extra cost.
According to Fairon, the new managed PBX service is just one in a stream of many to come, all with tried proof-of-concepts that have already been piloted. While he would not reveal the company's next step, he says customers can expect a new offering at the beginning of next year.
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