Neotel to expand network in South Africa

Telecom services provider Neotel, which is majority owned by Indian conglomerate Tatas, is expanding its network across South Africa.

Neotel is now concentrating on growing the network across the rest of South Africa, company's Business Support Service Executive Head Imran Abbas told a Johannesburg-based daily Business Report.

At present, Neotel has a huge presence in South African metros such as Durban, Cape Town.

The company is currently spending nearly $1-billion in partnership with the local cell phone company, MTN, to build a 5,000-km national long distance network to increase its coverage in the country.

Moreover, the company is expanding its operations to neighboring countries in partnership with the South African state-owned infrastructure provider, Infraco.

Abbas said Neotel, which has access to Seacom's undersea cable and Tata Communications' global network, had signed inter-connection agreements with operators in Zimbabwe, Zambia and Tanzania to allow its existing customers to communicate internationally.

"Interconnect is part of building any telecom network. We have therefore embarked on a proactive strategy to provide interconnect into those countries, to offer an alternative to the incumbent," said Abbas.

Neotel, in which Tata Group holds 56 per cent stake, had spent nearly $2-billion over the past decade in South Africa laying fibre in major areas to provide fixed mobile products to clients.