Vividly connecting companies by satellite TV

The solution, which due to its urgency took just over four weeks to complete, was installed by Sentech and official partner Connecting Africa. Metropolitan’s 145 offices around the country now feature satellite dishes, television monitors and Vivid decoders, enabling them to receive important company-related information.

"Key business developments were driving the speed and urgency of the implementation – it was important that all our 145 offices had to be equipped with satellite dishes, television monitors and Vivid decoders in a short space of time. We were fortunate that Sentech and Connecting Africa could accommodate and deliver on our business needs given the time constraints," explains Janine Greeff, communications manager from Metropolitan Retail.

She further adds that to play in the space of dedicated commercial frequency was too expensive for an internal broadcaster with a very small audience. "With an in-house satellite service, we are now able to share bandwidth with other users and obtain a much more affordable service.

"We were also satisfied that Sentech seemed to focus on the delivery of business television solutions; something we were eager to benefit from. The final clincher, however, was that we are also able to run a business radio service through the contract," Greeff says.

The Metropolitan contract is Sentech’s first Vivid service offering to a non-retail organisation, which the company is very excited about. "We believe Metropolitan is going to enjoy considerable benefits and we look forward to our future together. We’re very happy with the outcome and believe it’s only the beginning of more exciting things to come," comments Rajen Naidoo, senior key accounts manager at Sentech.

As a result of the Vivid implementation, Metropolitan can now broadcast information to its regional offices on a daily basis if required. "The most immediate and exciting benefit is definitely the fact that we are now providing informative, empowering and entertaining content - whether it’s business processes or communication regarding projects - to all our regional offices across the country simultaneously," says Greeff.

The Sentech Vivid Satellite Digital Decoder is an alternative platform to other digital satellite decoders in the market. The channels are encrypted and a smart card is required to view these channels.