Vendor neutrality key to success for up-and-coming voice services provider for mid-size corporates across sub-Saharan Africa.

Isando, Johannesburg: 9 September – South African mid-market voice communications company, Du Pont Telecoms, has relocated its technology base to Teraco Data Environments‘ vendor neutral data centre facility in Isando, Johannesburg. This move is part of the company’s restructuring of its business to offer large-scale Voice over IP (VoIP) services to customers in sub-Saharan Africa, competing with the large established players.

Key to this is Du Pont’s installation of state-of-the-art, carrier-grade Class 4 and Class 5 TELES telephony switches within the Teraco environment. Connectivity to clients is provided via point-to-point wireless and fibre, switching calls to customers via direct interconnect agreements with Telkom, Vodacom and MTN, as well as through local and international third-party wholesale voice termination partners.

“Teraco was the obvious choice for Du Pont Telecoms. We could offer them a high-site for wireless access to reduced last mile connectivity costs, plus an abundance of fibre capacity through Dark Fibre Africa’s links into Teraco. All this is provided in a best-practice data centre facility that provides the security, environment and N+1 redundancy they need,” explains Lex van Wyk, managing director of Teraco. “More importantly, Teraco gives Du Pont the freedom to explore interconnects with multiple carriers, and other service providers in an open market that will allow it to deliver on the full promise of converged voice/data solutions.”

Du Pont Telecoms has grown a successful business over the past 11 years, particularly in Least Cost Routing (LCR) offerings for mid-size corporates. The company has also been involved in advanced development of telephone handset devices for the local market. It holds an electronic communications network service (ECNS) licence in South Africa, and has extensive engagements with customers across the sub-Saharan region.

“We have done our due diligence with this move to Teraco and in setting up our own voice switching centre. Teraco gives us a best in class facility to establish our communications hub, with access to all the major carriers,” says Graeme Victor, chief executive of Du Pont Telecoms. “We have carefully built a sound, solidly structured business in the converged voice and data space, and now is the time to step forward and seize the opportunity that exists for agile telecoms companies which find new, better ways to provide better voice services at much lower prices than the entrenched operators.”