Based on its recent analysis of the Sub-Saharan African (SSA) communications services market, Frost & Sullivan has recognised Afrique Telecom with the 2018 Sub-Saharan African Enabling Technology Award.
The company’s broadband connectivity solutions SpaceDSL and TAMTAM help businesses, governments, and consumers deliver cost-effective, high-bandwidth Internet access to areas facing last-mile connectivity issues.
“Afrique Telecom’s SpaceDSL and TAMTAM stand out from other communications service providers’ solutions as they give customers the flexibility to choose consumption variables like data volume, time, and speed,” said Fadzai Deda, Best Practices Research Analyst at Frost & Sullivan. “In addition to these two solutions, Afrique Telecom is preparing to commercialise its new solution, Broadband Africa, which will deliver a best-in-class customer experience to consumers all over the continent.”
Afrique Telecom’s SpaceDSL largely addresses the issue of the lacking fixed-line infrastructure in SSA. SpaceDSL is a kit consisting of a small 35-kilogram satellite dish and a modem that businesses or individuals can deploy quickly. SpaceDSL allows users to choose the connectivity time frame, ranging from 30 to 90 days, as well as the connectivity speed and data volume. Furthermore, it does not tie users to any subscription contracts.
Meanwhile, the TAMTAM solution helps create a more connected ecosystem in SSA by combining satellite and Wi-Fi to create Internet hotspots. Each TAMTAM system can extend connectivity up to a few 100 metres radius around the hotspot and up to six kilometres by using additional repeaters or long-distance customer-premises equipment. TAMTAM can also deliver speeds of 10 megabytes per second (Mbps) and will soon support 100 Mbps. This solution allows Afrique Telecom to cater to a variety of stakeholders such as UNICEF, which has already deployed it to give Internet access to schools in Cameroon.
“Lastly, Afrique Telecom’s yet-to-be-released connectivity solution, Broadband Africa, comes with built-in flexibility that allows users to increase or decrease connection speed, set limits for data volume consumption, and set the connection duration,” added Deda.
“Broadband Africa will use last high throughput satellite technology to deliver connectivity of up to 100 Mbps across SSA.”
