Winston Smith to head up Alvarion SA

Alvarion, a leading provider of 4G WiMax and wireless broadband solutions, has appointed ICT veteran Winston Smith to head up its South African office. Smith will officially replace Rick Rogers as MD of Alvarion South Africa in April 2010.

Smith has been in the employ of Internet service provider MWEB for the last three years, where he most recently served as the manager: Wireless Deployment and Operations. Prior to that, Smith worked for Sentech for nearly four years, Infosat Communications for a year, and Telkom for 15 years.

“Alvarion is one of the top three wireless broadband access manufacturers worldwide and, as a WiMax player, has managed to increase its market share during a period of global economic turbulence,” says Smith.

“As an operator, I have long been a customer of Alvarion and have had the opportunity to test and deploy a number of products within the Alvarion portfolio. As such, I am intimately familiar and equally impressed with these experiences,” he adds, noting that when the offer of country manager was made to him, he didn't hesitate to accept the challenge.

Smith indicates that his goals are to succeed in opening new markets for Alvarion in the SADC region and Nigeria, and helping it gain a stronger foothold in its existing customer base. “I hope to ensure that the channels to market are not only successful in marketing the Alvarion product, but that they are excited about working with the brand. Naturally, I also intend to grow Alvarion's market share; and to enjoy myself in the process,” he adds.

WiMax in South Africa is really at its infancy. With 10% Internet penetration in South Africa, and a mere 3% of that being broadband (according to research firm World Wide Worx's Internet Access in South Africa 2010 study), this offers an opportunity for very rapid growth, especially with the recent deployment of the Seacom undersea cable and its associated reduction in bandwidth costs, maintains Smith.

“Alvarion has an excellent team in its South African office, which is the reason why the company has maintained its position as the choice WiMax and wireless broadband access vendor in the SADC region. I am confident that, as a team, together with Alvarion's strong local partners, we will be able to assist operators and enterprises in SADC to maximise the benefits that wireless broadband can provide them,” he concludes.