FAST-growing broadband service provider iBurst is preparing to outmanoeuvre its competitors and is gearing up for rapid growth. <\/p>\n
That’s according to Thami Mtshali, the company’s chief executive, after the company announced the launch of a webphone that would compete with Telkom’s landline. <\/p>\n
Mtshali said: “A phone call to New York will cost you less than what you currently pay to call Soweto, and the installation is fast.” <\/p>\n
The webphone is, at its core, a wireless modem designed for use anywhere within iBurst’s coverage zones, which already cover a large part of the country. It is plugged into a power socket and operates immediately. <\/p>\n
The device has a cigarette lighter adapter which can be used in a car. <\/p>\n
“We use any technology to get the service to the customer,” Mtshali said. “People don’t really care what the technology is, exactly, as long as we give them a quality product or service,” <\/p>\n
The company has already received more than 100 requests for the phone, and expects a huge influx of customers this year. <\/p>\n
It currently has 60000 broadband customers, many of whom live in townships. <\/p>\n
“We have connected most Gauteng townships to the Internet, and we are the only service provider in townships such as Soshanguve,” Mtshali said. <\/p>\n
The company, which had only about 40 employees last year, now employs 220 people. <\/p>\n
It expects to grow further as access to communication networks opens up and regulations in the industry relax. <\/p>\n
“There’s a fibre-optic cable network from here to Europe, the SAT3 system, but that’s expensive and exclusively owned by Telkom. Now the Seacom system is being built which will bring prices down,” Mtshali said. <\/p>\n