CORPORATE re-invention is not uncommon in the ICT sector, but the scale and pace of re-invention at Sentech is perhaps without local precedent.
The company was only launched 11 years ago, yet over the last two years Sentech has taken on an entirely new character.
Consider the transformation:
* From a focused signal carrier for SA radio and TV stations into a multi-disciplinary communicator offering broadband wireless in addition to broadcasting services
* From a B2B supplier into a B2C and B2B technology services company
* From the workhorse of broadcasting into a facilitator of social delivery to the nation at large
* From a company of competency-based technocrats into a marketing organization where techno-sophistication is simply the price of entry
* From a state-owned cost centre into a commercialised state asset positioned to earn its keep and make profits.
The catalyst for change was realised two years ago when the government recognised Sentech as a major IP player by awarding the company the carrier-of-carriers and multimedia licences enabling Sentech to handle other telecom operators' traffic and to offer broadband wireless services.
Sentech can provide the full range of Broadband Wireless (BBW) communication services (audio, data, video and text) to business and direct to home, with the exception of assigning customers a phone line.
All in all, Sentech now offers:
* Terrestrial broadcasting coverage in analogue format to 98% of SA broadcasters;
* C-band capacity linking radio and TV transmissions;
* Business broadcasting, datacasting and interactive distance learning;
* Always on, high speed, portable internet access via high powered radio frequency (MyWireless).
* The country's first suite of broadband wireless services, delivered via satellite with no need for a fixed telephone line (VSTAR).
Its technology inventory includes:
* 225 transmission high sites;
* 552 TV transmitters;
* 719 FM transmitters;
* 16 medium wave transmitters;
* 20 microwave multipoint distribution systems.
* 32 MyWireless high sites
* 1 VSAT hub
Sentech serves international telecom operators, both fixed-line and mobile. Customers include KPN of the Netherlands, Belgacom, MTN, Vodacom and Cell C. It carries shortwave traffic for Deutschewelle, CNN, Radio France International and others.
But Sentech's MyWireless impact in the home market is the current point of focus.
The MyWireless services were unveiled in November 2003. The offerings include Internet access, which enables VPNs, video conferencing, digital media streaming and Direct to Home (DTH) information and entertainment.
The starting point of the broadband revolution was VSTAR, an always-on platform for the satellite transmission of data to WANs and VPNs. VSTAR runs at speeds from to as low as 4 kilobits to 10 megabits per second.
The intended commercial target is the SME, but the capacity for social delivery was soon revealed when high resolution, high-speed messaging at 512 megabits per second enabled the system to instantly deliver X-ray images from under-resourced rural hospitals to expert radiologists on the Reef. Diagnosis and treatment of the poor was suddenly being facilitated by Sentech's broadband services.
By January this year, the VSTAR platform with its promise of always-on Internet without capacity constraints helped Sentech win the GautengOnline contract from the Gauteng Department of Education.
The deal will bring online education and email messaging to 1.6 million pupils and 60 000 teachers at 1100 state schools across the province.
Sentech will touch even more lives with its MyWireless offerings.
For the first time, consumers in South Africa can enjoy true wireless Internet connectivity via MyWireless, which delivers affordable interruption-free Internet access without usage capping, at a fixed monthly fee with no additional charges. The 'engine' this time is not a satellite, but high-powered radio frequency.
The initial offering, MyWireless 128 is aimed at the residential market. The faster MyWireless 256 and 512 target small business owners. The service is currently being rolled out to major metropolitan centres.
To penetrate mass consumer markets Sentech is entering alliances with value added partners, that have been carefully chosen to enhance Sentech's business in the niche environments of mobile cellular communication, internet service provision and technology hardware.
Two years ago, Sentech served less than 200 customers. By year-end it could have many thousands.
Dr Sebiletso Mokone-Matabane, CEO of Sentech, notes: "Provision of broadband services on this scale to consumers and business is without precedent. We are inventing a new business while re-inventing ourselves. It's a great challenge.
"Thankfully, Sentech has shown a huge appetite for challenge and change. We're excited by the opportunities rather than daunted by them. It is a privilege to touch so many lives and have the chance to improve the prospects of so many."
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Sentech is a commercially operated, state-owned enterprise that began its operations in 1992 under the auspices of the SABC, as a signal distributor for all transmissions related to the SABC.
Sentech provides the following services:
* Terrestrial broadcasting coverage in analogue format to 98% of SA broadcasters;
* Satellite distribution for linking both radio and TV transmissions networks through its C-band capacity;
* Business broadcasting, data casting and interactive distance learning;
* Fast Internet access;
* Broadband services, delivered via both satellite and terrestrial networks.
Sentech's Broadband services first became available in August 2003. The first package, VSTAR Custom, is a satellite-driven broadband service with Internet access as a core offering aimed at the broad business market. Sentech also offers a standard VSTAR Internet product to access the Internet at speeds as high as 512 megabits per second and as low as 128 megabits.
Sentech's latest addition to its broadband wireless product offering is the new Internet service, called MyWireless offered in three packages, starting with MyWireless 128, which offers a shared 128Kbps connection, mainly for residential users, and two higher bandwidth offerings, namely MyWireless 256 and MyWireless 512, aimed at the small office home office (SOHO) and small to medium-sized enterprises.
Sentech has:
* 207 transmission high sites;
* 552 TV transmitters;
* 719 FM transmitters;
* 16 medium wave transmitters;
* Over 20 microwave multipoint distribution systems.
The company is also in the process of rolling out the MyWireless network throughout the country. For more information, log on to www.sentech.co.za.
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