The announcement by communications minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri that voice over Internet protocol (VOIP) is to be legal by 1 February next year is very good news for the South African business community as a whole.
"This is a big step towards speeding up the convergence of voice and data in the South African telecommunications space," said James Herbst, director: finance of DataPro, the soon-to-be-listed niche telco and premier Internet service provider.
"The legalisation of VOIP encourages competition and will put pressure on the high cost of telecommunications. But we also believe that by eliminating the restrictions that were placed on the use of data lines, businesses will see a positive impact on the ROI from their current infrastructure.
"The most important result the changed legislation will have is that businesses will for the first time have the opportunity to choose an alternative supplier for their voice and data requirements."
Foreseeing this move, DataPro has been gearing itself up for the convergence of voice and data technologies. Consequently it has established VoxTelecom as the least-cost routing and voice division of DataPro Group.
"We have been anticipating this move and have geared ourselves toward delivering cost-effective solutions that address businesses in-efficiencies," said Douglas Reed, MD of DataPro.
"We believe that DataPro is perfectly positioned toward maximising the opportunities brought about by the legalisation of VOIP. We also expect Telkom to form alliances with major players in the ISP market to deliver their services."
These changes in the market and legislation emphasises the strategic value of independent players in the telecommunications sector, such as DataPro.
The legalisation of VOIP, the coming second national operator and ADSL technology are all very exciting factors that will positively impact the ISP market.
"DataPro will naturally take advantage of these changes and as a leader in delivering innovative and cost-effective solutions we are ready to bring to market solutions that incorporate both voice and data services.
DataPro will list on the AltX during October 2004.
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