The deregulation of telecommunications in SA is opening up opportunities for new technology. Spescom Telecommunications, recently awarded sole vendor status in a two-year contract with Telkom to provide free-space optics (FSO) systems, is a case in point of a local company bringing the latest technology to SA.
"FSO allows data transmission via infrared laser along line-of-sight links, which are ideal for metropolitan area networks (MANs)," says Paul Serfontein, product manager at Spescom Telecommunications. "The technology is sophisticated, but offers a far more cost-effective system than installing fibre optic cable.
"Two problems with fibre - especially when it runs between buildings over considerable distances - are that it is expensive and typically requires time-consuming installation. FSO provides bandwidth from 2Mbps up to 2.5Gbps over typical distances ranging from about 100m to 4km. This is achieved at approximately one-fifth of the cost of fibre deployment.
LightPointe is an established name in the US for laser connections. The company, an authorised member of Cisco Systems' Ecosystem Partner Program, offers technology which is transparent to any network protocol.
"LightPointe FSO is a carrier-class technology," says Serfontein. "In the US, privately run MANs and large-campus corporate networks make use of this system. In the local market, however, this is first and foremost a carrier- or service-provider level solution. It is perfect for metropolitan distribution of broadband data services and avoids the limitations and expense of wireless and fibre broadband systems.
"FSO is one of the most promising technologies for quickly and inexpensively overcoming the difficulties of fibre availability and low bandwidth in the 'last mile' of the access network, which is why the incumbent data services carrier is actively supporting its roll-out.
"Data transmission using infrared laser is stable, robust and the link heads are smaller than satellite dishes - and easier to relocate if a network needs to be changed. We are sure that FSO will make an important contribution to the improvement of South African urban connectivity."
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Spescom Limited is an information and communications technology (ICT) company listed on the JSE Securities Exchange SA, with operations in the US, UK and SA.
The group is active in two main areas of the world IT market, namely offering product and solutions to connect to the networked economy, and the provision of software solutions to manage information and knowledge.
The strategic focus is on the convergence of knowledge, document, configuration and voice transaction management technologies.
Spescom DataVoice is a subsidiary of Spescom Limited and is dedicated to the development and global marketing of its DataVoice products in the area of capture, management, and recreation of live data.
Spescom holds the controlling interest in US-based Spescom Software Inc, a Nasdaq-, OTCBB-listed company, and developer of the award-winning eB software suite.
In SA, Spescom, in alliance with world leading companies such as Cisco and Avaya, provides a range of customer contact and intelligent network solutions to its blue-chip customer base.
The company is a leading supplier of communications solutions and products to network operators and service providers on the African continent.
For more information, please visit Spescom's Web site at www.spescom.com.
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