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 Welcome to Talking Drums. It has been great to hear from
friends old and new who saw the last edition!
Gateway Communications has launched interCELL,
the first cost effective, high-quality international service
for African GSM operators.
Drawing on cellular package concepts, interCELL
is 'pay-as-you-use' and delivered free of recurring costs, capital
expenditure or set up charges.
We are launching interCELL at GSM Africa
at the Cape Town Convention Centre, on 30 November, on stand
91. It is a great opportunity to hear the interCELL
story and see how we can help your business in Africa. You may
even leave with a mini iPod.
We also focus on developments for Gateway Communications in
Nambia, Mauritania,
Tanzania, Guinea
and South Africa.
Gateway Communications has maintained a presence in Africa since
1991. To celebrate this milestone, we
look at the leaps in technology and how communications are changing
Africa and its economy.
For those of you at GSM Africa, I look forward to seeing you
at the show. In the meantime, enjoy Talking Drums!
Peter Gbedemah
Managing Director
Gateway Communications
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Spacetel Guinea to double GSM
subscriber base through partnership with Gateway Communications
As a result of significant network expansion Spacetel, the national
GSM service provider in
Guinea, has selected Gateway Communications as its partner for
the delivery of international services. Gateway will deliver
a complete suite of services comprising international connectivity,
voice applications, roaming and value-added services.
More on this story:
http://www.gatewaycomms.com/full/spacetel.htm
Telecom Namibia extends partnership
with Gateway Communications
Gateway Communications has extended an existing partnership
with Telecom Namibia to include an interconnection for international
services. Telecom Namibia operates a full digital telecommunications
network providing fixed-line and fixed-mobile telephony, data,
IP Access to ISPs and its own ISP known as IWAY, as well as
the backbone transmission infrastructure for GSM mobile services
for Mobile Telecommunications Limited (MTC).
More on this story:
http://www.gatewaycomms.com/full/telecomnamibia.htm
Gateway Communications partners
with Mauritel
Building on its significant presence in West Africa, Gateway
Communications has entered into an agreement with Mauritel,
the incumbent in Mauritania, to provide international voice
services between Mauritania and the rest-of-the-world. Sitting
on the edge of the Sahara desert, Mauritania is the northern
most of the ECOWAS West African states. Mauritel is the main
phone operator in Mauritania, holding fixed and GSM licences
across the country. The agreement with Mauritel allows Gateway
to provide PTT and GSM network customers in Africa with high
quality international calling services into Mauritania.
More on this story:
http://www.gatewaycomms.com/full/mauritel.htm
Gateway Communications expands
with Zanzibar Telecom
Gateway Communications has entered into an interconnection agreement
with Zanzibar Telecom (Zantel), the second national operator
(SNO) and licensed GSM carrier in Tanzania. The service allows
Zantel to benefit from increased settlement revenue on international
calls and assist Zantel win subscribers through the provision
of high-quality international calling services. Gateway Communications,
a provider of high-quality international voice and data services
throughout Africa, is already active in East Africa where they
maintain a presence in Uganda, Kenya and Somalia.
More on this story:
http://www.gatewaycomms.com/full/zanzibar.htm
Minister's announcement signals
new era for communications in SA
The announcement by the Minister of Communications, Dr. Ivy
Matsepe-Casaburri that there will soon be wide ranging changes in the telecommunications market has
been welcomed by Gateway Communications SA managing director
Mike van den Bergh, who describes the move as the most important
development in South Africa since the licensing of mobile operators
MTN and Vodacom over 10 years ago.
More on this story:
http://www.gatewaycomms.com/full/deregulation.htm
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 No
matter where you look, mobile telephone technology is driving
the African economy as the use of mobile phones has skyrocketed
with cellular subscribers outnumbering fixed-line
users, writes Peter Gbedemah.
Mobile subscribers account for more than 65% of the total number
of telephone lines in Africa and the continent is acknowledged
to be the fastest growing geographic region
globally in terms of mobile phone usage.
With subscriber numbers increasing by more than 1,000% between
1998 and 2003, it is an example of how modern technology can
be used to benefit the lives of millions across the continent
who were previously unable to benefit from the development of
the telephone.
There are some 150-network operators from start-ups to well-established
network operators across the continent, serving some 50 countries,
and these figures are set to expand again this year. The catalyst
for growth and increasing penetration levels has been technology
and de-regulation in Africa. But with an ever-increasing number
of players in a fragmented market, there is often confusion
on implementation of connectivity,quality and international
settlements.
Tariffs may allow users to make and receive international telephone
calls, but there is often an inability to actually make that
happen in any meaningful way. This is because connectivity and
settlements between operators may not have been made. Indeed
settlement and connectivity is a huge issue and operators are
looking for solutions to allow subscribers to make and receive
quality international calls.
This roadblock is starting to move with the launch of interCELL,
the first pan-African service designed specifically to meet
the international requirements of GSM operators on the continent
by Gateway Communications.
Using satellite and fibre transmission options, the new service
for GSM operators offers global connectivity to over 450 destinations,
full caller line information (CLI) and roaming
information and links to more than 250 operators. interCELL
connects to an operators MSC equipment and with the addition
of an International Gateway (IG) and bandwidth supplied
by Gateway Communications, is connected using international
circuits back to one of Gateway's hubbing locations.
Peter Gbedemah, managing director of Gateway Communications,
says: "Around 60% of traffic into Africa is to mobile phones,
and in a market where 80% of the revenue is generated by routing
calls terminating or originating in Africa, it is big business.
GSM operators see every missed call that is unable to be connected
as a missed business or revenue opportunity."
Deregulation and private partnership agreements have also sparked
a massive fall in the cost of pan-African country-to-country
connectivity and investment in telephony technology.
 The
result is that small owner-managers and large corporations can
trade effectively without making substantial capital investments
in communications equipment. As there are more mobile phones
than fixed lines in Africa operators are now packaging services
and
designing business models that are specifically for GSM operators
rather that adapting PTT technology and services. In some instances,the
cost benefit to the user is a saving of up to 70 per cent per
call. While sharing much in common with their fixed lines cousins,
GSM operators have differing needs and business drivers from
their longer established PTT or incumbent relatives.
However until now the companies seeking to provide services
to GSM operators or PTT's in Africa have not acknowledged this.
International carriers have simply adopted the 'one-size-fits-all'
approach that brushes over the different requirements of the
market. InterCELL changes that.
The objective of interCELL is to allow GSM operators in Africa
to deliver improved subscriber revenue, increased efficiency
and greater quality than traditionally available. Drawing on
the concepts of cellular packages the interCELL service is 'pay-as-you-go'
and delivered free of recurring costs, capital expenditure or
set up charges. Users simply pay for what they use.
Gbedemah adds: "interCELL is a great leap forward for African
GSM operators and will help drive forward new business opportunities
across the continent. The launch of interCELL is an important
and strategic move for us.
The result is that customers will instantly see improved revenue,
profitability and cash flow through the relationship with Gateway
Communications and interCELL. "The service is unique to
Gateway Communications, and is the first time business users
and consumers on
the continent will be able to act globally while working and
thinking in an African context. It also builds on our track
record of service delivery in Africa and understanding of the
local market conditions."
"We are working with numerous service providers across
Africa to establish networks that use local skills and expertise
and that is something that we are able to do whether we are
working in South Africa, Sierra Leone, Nigeria or Guinea which
is unique to Gateway Communications."
"As the leading pan-African voice and data service provider,
we are able to equip network operators with state-of-the art
telecom facilities and services and develop a local presence
and strategy that uniquely meets the demand of phone users in
the country in which they are operating," adds Gbedemah.
For more information on Gateway Communications interCELL service,
visit the company at GSM World Series Africa at the Cape Town
Convention Centre, in Cape Town on 30 November. Alternatively,
visit Gateway Communications at www.gatewaycomms.com
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Since
1991, Gateway Communications has been working across Africa.
To celebrate, we have taken a trip down memory lane and highlight
some of our successes. We have also included African events
we have seen along the way.
1991 - It was almost a lifetime ago we got
together in Johannesburg and formed Gateway SA. Within a year,
we obtained one of first VANS licenses in South Africa. According
to Nokia, 10 million people globally own a mobile phone.
1992 - Gateway launches its first EDI service
in South Africa. Jean Armour Polly publishes the phrase 'surfing
the internet' for the first time.
1993 - Gateway introduces managed data network
services.
1994 - Gateway partners with BT to launch BT
Frame Relay Service in South Africa. The African National Congress
wins the first multi-racial election in South Africa. Nelson
Mandela elected as President.
1995 - Gateway reach in Africa grows with the
launch of a national frame relay network service in Botswana
and Namibia.
1996 - General Electric Information Services
signs a distribution agreement with Gateway.
1997 - When faxes ruled, Gateway SA launched
an electronic fax refilling service in South Africa. The number
of mobile phone subscribers in South Africa hits 1.4 million.
GSM users in Cote d'Ivoire reach 37,900.
1998 - Gateway offers a full ISP service in
South Africa. GSM services begin operation in
Morocco - the system has 116,080 users.
1999 - Gateway launches the first commercial
VoIP Carrier service in Africa.
2000 - Working with Gateway, BT Concert Global
Network Services premiers in South Africa. The number of Internet
users worldwide reaches 150 million. The African Union is formed
in May. IDC reveals there are 47,245,000 mobile phone users
in Africa.
2002 - Gateway SA is acquired by Gateway Communications
and launches bid to become the Second National Operator in South
Africa.
2002 - New York, New York! We go Stateside
with the inauguration of Gateway Communications US, operating
commercial services in New York.
2003 - Gateway Communications and Datatel GSM,
is granted nation-wide GSM operating licence in Sierra Leone.
2004 - Gateway Communications launches interCELL,
for GSM operators in Africa. Globally, more than 1.5 billion
people own mobile phones, with 30 per cent of mobile phone revenue
from exchanges of texts and images. We've come a long,long way
together . . .
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 If
you can identify which African country this mystery Gateway Entertainment
Spot is located in, you can win an Apple iPod courtesy of Gateway
Communications.
To win, leave your answer on a business card or postcard with
the Gateway Communications team on stand 91 at GSM
Africa, or send an email to us at: ipod@gatewaycomms.com
Struggling with the answer?
Take a closer look
at the image.
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If you would like to know more about Gateway Communications,
please contact our London or Johannesburg offices:
Gateway Communications United Kingdom:
1 Red Place
Mayfair
London
W1K 6PL
United Kingdom
Tel:
+44 20 7493 0099
 Fax: +44 20 7495 3082
Email:
info@gatewaycomms.com
Gateway Communications South Africa:
Building 12
Harrowdene Office Park
Western Service Road
Woodmead
Johannesburg
South Africa
Tel:
+27 11 797 3300
Fax: +27 11 797 3363
Email: info@gatewaycomms.co.za |
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