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NewTelco SA introduces infrastructure-as-a-service offering

Regina Pazvakavambwa
By Regina Pazvakavambwa, ITWeb portals journalist.
Johannesburg, 01 Nov 2017
Eckart Zollner, business development manager at Jasco.
Eckart Zollner, business development manager at Jasco.

Jasco Group's NewTelco SA Jasco has introduced an infrastructure-as-a-service (IAAS) offering, in an effort to attract international Telcos and service providers that are looking to grow their client bases in SA.

Part of the Jasco Group, NewTelco SA launched operations in 2010 and offers an independent telecoms hub for local, regional and international carriers with a presence or looking to establish in SA. It is a joint venture with Germany-based co-location firm NewTelco.

The company says the IAAS solution for international carriers includes servers, storage, co-location, local and global interconnects with other Internet service providers and Telcos, as well as backhaul, distribution and operations - and business support systems like customer onboarding, billing and administration.

"Internationally, markets for telco services are maturing. In the US, Europe and Asia, Telcos and service providers with sophisticated products - think cloud, voice, data, security, IOT, analytics, content and infotainment - are facing increasing competition in a crowded market, says Eckart Zollner, business development manager at Jasco.

"They need new markets for proven products. Sub-Saharan Africa, a fast-growing emerging market with more fibre to the home and to businesses being rolled out daily, offers opportunity. However, to enter this market, they face a number of infrastructure, regulatory and business challenges."

Regulatory requirements include a stipulation that they must offer their services from an in-country data centre if they want to operate locally, says NewTelco SA. There is also privacy and other legislation, for example like the Protection of Personal Information Act, they must comply with, it says. This means that to enter this market, they either need to build their own infrastructure or partner locally with a service provider able to deliver their services, adds NewTelco SA.

"NewTelco's IAAS solution provides them with exactly what they need - the infrastructure, support and reliability they need to offer their services to customers with the assurance that they comply with key security and privacy legislation."

"In addition to our large data centre in SA, NewTelco has a strong presence across Europe, serving international carriers. It has also recently begun offering services out of data centres in Kenya to facilitate the establishment of a carrier community in East Africa, as more services are rolled out to that region."

Zollner believes the entry of international players in the local market over the next three years will bring welcome competition as well as present significant opportunity for local players to partner with successful global service providers.

"The current telecoms market disruption is unprecedented. We are seeing the birth of a new industry - one that is far more inclusive but also more facetted and complex."

While technology seems to be leading the way and providing carriers with a competitive advantage, the ability of carriers to strategically partner and leverage new opportunities may provide the ultimate long-term advantage, says Zollner.

"Carriers will need strategic and tech smarts, as well as considerable stamina to stay the course. Those that do will emerge as players in a very different landscape - one that is just starting to come into view."

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