Carrier Relations in Africa
Capacity Magazine recently organised its first pan-African Telecoms conference, held at the Westin Grand Hotel, Cape Town on the 10th and 11th of September.
And the i-conX exhibition team was on hand to demonstrate the latest v7 i-conX system to delegates, as one of a prestigious group of sponsors including AT&T, Telkom Wholesale, Alcatel Lucent, Ibasis and Gateway.
During the two day conference, attendees from across Africa and the Middle East attended talks providing an insight into the current shape, scope and structure of the wholesale market in Africa and strategies for gaining access to new opportunities in this area.
Issues of regulation and de-regulation also featured prominently. These discussions were led and facilitated by a panel of experts including Sudanese operator CanarTel, Celtel (Nigeria), and officers from the Nigerian and South African regulatory bodies.
Needless to say, this was a particularly interesting event for the team from i-conX, as good interconnect practices lie at the heart of effective wholesale management.
Delegates enthusiastically approached the i-conX exhibition stand with questions relating to issues such as effective loading and management of wholesale rates and codes, and the monitoring of wholesale cost/revenue margins through accurate reporting.
A special evening reception on day one was enjoyed by all and provided an ideal forum for sharing ideas and for further discussion of the issues that had been raised throughout the day.
Speaking for i-conX, Michelle Dervan commented : "This high level conference provided a fascinating insight into the trends in wholesale telecoms across Africa, and beyond".
"Carriers face new challenges as the tempo of market liberalisation quickens, and the need for solid, commercially prudent interconnection agreements is key to sustaining progress".
Also attending the event was VP Sales & Marketing Gavin Stewart. He commented, "As our customer base grows in Africa, so our profile within the carrier community increases. Telecoms is a global business, and i-conX is confident that it has a unique offer that makes sense for emerging markets worldwide".