NATIONAL telecommunications operator Neotel has had its R230m acquisition of Transtel approved by the Competition Tribunal, giving it 550 more staff and valuable networking facilities. <\/p>\n
The deal gives Neotel a presence in more than 100 locations and access to numerous “last mile” networks connecting directly to Transtel customers’ premises. Neotel can now expand those networks to reach more clients without needing to roll out new infrastructure. <\/p>\n
Neotel’s external affairs executive Fani Zulu said the dual importance of absorbing Transtel was access to its network and technicians with scarce skills. “Its network is complementary to ours and it’s the last mile that connects to customers, so we can expand that and quickly bring our services to private customers,” he said. <\/p>\n
“For a start-up like ours this acquisition is an important way to grow our presence. This gives us the ability to address a bigger group of customers in a wider geographic area,” he said. <\/p>\n
Job protection was built into the deal, but Zulu said that was not a problem as Neotel was growing fast enough to need all the extra staff. <\/p>\n
Transtel is a division of Transnet, and Transnet will now appoint Neotel as its sole provider of voice and data services for five years, boosting Neotel’s annual revenue by at least R600m.<\/p>\n