Neotel to run Network Operating Centre for WACS

Through this contract, and as a consequence of Neotel's global connections through Tata Communications, the company is creating approximately ten skilled jobs in South Africa, and facilitating skills development and knowledge transfer into the country.

Sunil Joshi, Neotel CEO said, "We are honoured to be entrusted with the significant responsibility of running the NOC for an international cable system and we are confident that with our unique positioning in the industry, through our global partner Tata Communications, we will deliver to the needs of WACS. We have the required skills sets and are building additional skills to be able to service this contract. As this is a highly skilled area of operation, we will train and develop specialised local personnel apt for both local and international ICT landscape."

Skills can benefit local companies

"We believe the ICT sector and Neotel play an important role in positioning South Africa on the global landscape as an attractive investment destination, with reliable world-class connections being just one part of the equation. As we continue to expand our network, we bring a new world of communication and services with skills and technologies which local companies can use to increase their productivity and improve their own competitiveness," he added.

WACS, which landed in Cape Town in May, linking Southern Africa and Europe is set to increase South Africa's current broadband capacity by over 500 Gigabytes per second (Gbps). Spanning the west coast of Africa and terminating in the United Kingdom, WACS will enable seamless connectivity into the rest of Europe and America. Neotel is also a consortium member in WACS which will serve the growth needs of its customers through an additional cable system to the existing four which they are already involved in. Access to all five submarine cable systems is a unique value proposition for Neotel in the South African service provider landscape.