Neotel scoops up cheaper bandwidth

Neotel has become the anchor tenant on the Seacom cable, poised to deliver vast quantities of cheaper bandwidth to SA

Telecoms operator Neotel has become the anchor tenant on the Seacom cable, poised to deliver vast quantities of cheaper bandwidth to SA through a deal struck by its parent company, Tata Communications.

Tata, which owns 56% of Neotel, has signed up as the undersea cable’s first big customer, and has struck another deal to actually manage the cable, its billing systems and customer relations on behalf of Seacom.

Neotel had already invested R20m in the project and will manage the cable’s landing station in Mtunzini. That deal has now been substantially extended with Tata pumping in far more cash in return for bandwidth.

“We are investing in the system in a joint investment with Neotel,” said Byron Clatterbuck, Tata Communications’ senior vice president for global transmission services. “We are not announcing now how much we are investing but it’s a significant amount.”

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