Huawei Technologies along with its partners: Telkom SA, Deloitte, Southern African Telecommunication Association (SATA) and the Fixed line operators in the region have committed to signing a Statement of Intent to collaborate with each other and to establish a platform for dialogue on the rollout of broadband in the Southern African region. This was announced at the Southern African Region Chief Executive Officers (CEO) Roundtable Discussion which took place at the Radisson Blu in Sandton. The roundtable was part of the Forum on China Africa cooperation (FOCAC) which is took place in Johannesburg and Pretoria from the 2nd to the 5th of December 2015.
Mr. Sipho Maseko CEO of Telkom SA said that “fixed broadband infrastructure is vital in the provision of broadband services for commerce and government and that there is a correlation between broadband penetration and the rate of economic growth”. Mr. Xindajiang Huawei’s Vice President of Eastern and Southern Africa Region said that ”with 17 years of experience within Africa’s ICT industry, Huawei remains committed to engaging with all the relevant stakeholders both in the public and private sector, to ensure that the future plans for the improvement in connectivity in Africa can be realized, in order to improve socio-economic development”.
The Statement of Intent further reiterates that the fixed line operators, along with their vendors, are strategically positioned to deliver the requisite broadband infrastructure in their own countries and to connect such countries together with terrestrial links.
