Internet Solutions (IS), a pan-African communications services provider, has increased its shareholding in WiFi provider AlwaysOn to 100%, for an undisclosed sum, as the technology gains popularity.
IS acquired its original 51% in the company, which provides secure WiFi internet access to more than 1 400 locations in South Africa, in 2009. AlwaysOn also offers roaming capabilities in over 110 countries at more than a million hotspots.
AlwaysOn MD Nico Pretorius notes that, "in the five years that AlwaysOn has been in partnership with Internet Solutions, we have grown our WiFi network and our client base considerably. As the demand for WiFi continues, AlwaysOn and Internet Solutions together will reach more people as it expands its network and capability".
In a statement, IS says WiFi is increasingly an integral and critical component to the mobile strategies of organisations, and WiFi technology is now an important part of the overall user experience in a highly mobile, highly connected society.
It is already a standard feature in smartphones, PCs, tablets and other consumer electronic devices that converge and blur the business and consumer boundaries.
"The demand for WiFi continues to grow at an extraordinary rate, brought about by the growth of a global society that expects to be always connected anytime, anywhere. For example, in the US, WiFi connections account for more than 37% of digital traffic over mobile phones.
"And about 90% of Internet access from tablets is done via WiFi, not through a 3G or 4G network. There is also an increase in demand for cloud-based services and other high data-consuming functions at both the business and consumer levels," says Sean Nourse, chief solutions officer at IS.
AlwaysOn will continue to trade and operate under the AlwaysOn brand.
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