Johannesburg, South Africa, 26th March 2024 – CMC Networks, a global Tier 1 service provider, has launched its Air Connect solution to deliver wireless connectivity to businesses across South Africa. Air Connect is a Wireless to the Business (WTTB) solution for reliable, high-speed connectivity and business continuity, even in some of the world’s most challenging environments. 

Air Connect uses radio waves to ensure robust and stable connectivity across varying landscapes in South Africa, including rural farmland, sparse deserts, and rugged terrains. Leveraging wireless technology removes the costs, complexities, and long deployment times associated with traditional wired connections such as fibre. It is a flexible service with speed ranges of 5Mbps to 500Mbps+, depending on business requirements.  

“Air Connect is a very exciting solution for us, and a real game-changer for our customers in South Africa,” said Marisa Trisolino, CEO at CMC Networks. “Our aim is to power the next era of digital adoption across Africa, and Air Connect is a huge step forward in doing so. It provides our customers with a wider selection of connectivity options to add redundancy to their networks, helping to keep their businesses up and running no matter the circumstances.” 

Air Connect can be installed very quickly with a 3 to 10 day service level objective (SLO). This makes the solution useful for customers awaiting a fibre build, providing a rapid temporary deployment to minimise network downtime. Air Connect can serve as an active backup after the fibre roll out in a software-defined wide-area network (SD-WAN) overlay deployment, increasing network resilience, redundancy and uptime. 

“Air Connect is a fully scalable solution to fit our customers’ unique business needs, with rapid installation, high-speed connectivity, increased network uptime and reliability,” said Geoff Dornan, CTO at CMC Networks. “We’re continually expanding our portfolio to meet our customers’ changing requirements, so that they can reach their business objectives without being delayed by connectivity.”   

CMC Networks has been innovating in Africa for more than three decades and has the largest pan-African network servicing 51 out of 54 countries in Africa and 12 countries in the Middle East, plus regional hubs in key interconnect locations across Europe, the Americas, and the Asia-Pacific.

About CMC Networks 

CMC Networks is a global Tier 1 service provider that enables and accelerates digital transformation in the most challenging markets in the world. Headquartered in South Africa and providing services for over 30 years, it combines network reach across six continents with innovation in AI, cloud-on ramp, cybersecurity, EDGE Cloud, SDN, virtualisation, and a range of services to solve local enterprise challenges with world-class solutions. 

CMC provides data communications to Carriers, Governments, Multinationals, and various non-profit organisations, operating more than 110 Service Locations providing a cost-effective, scalable, and resilient network. 

https://www.cmcnetworks.com/  

Hong Kong, March 26, 2024 – Juniper Research has unveiled a critical whitepaper detailing the pervasive and insidious issue of Artificially Inflated Traffic (AIT) and SMS Trashing within the business messaging sector. The comprehensive study was conducted in collaboration with VOX Solutions, with the aim to cast light on fraudulent activities that have led to increased operational costs for enterprises by charging for non-existent SMS traffic.

This new research reveals that in 2023, known AIT accounted for 18% of all international A2P SMS traffic, costing enterprises, including those of notable figures like Elon Musk, upwards of $60 million annually. Such staggering figures bring to light the urgent need for mobile operators to devise and implement robust strategies to protect their revenue streams and customer trust.

Key Highlights from Juniper Research:

Juniper Research estimates the global cost of AIT to enterprises at $8.5 billion in 2023, signaling a dire need for immediate action.
By 2027, AIT is expected to account for 11% of traffic, costing $23.4 billion to enterprises, with the highest penetration in Central & East Europe, and Far East & China.
AIT and SMS trashing create substantial revenue for fraudsters by expanding SMS traffic volumes “artificially”.
Sources of AGT (Artificially Generated Traffic), such as bots and AI, are increasingly complex, making detection difficult.

The whitepaper emphasizes the dire consequences of unchecked AIT, including the potential collapse of business messaging as a reliable channel and the shift to alternatives like OTT platforms or biometric authentication methods. Juniper Research calls upon all industry stakeholders to collaborate in combatting these fraudulent practices.

In light of these findings, the CEO of VOX Solutions, Ehsan Ahmadi, remarks, “The scourge of AIT represents one of the most stealthy and damaging threats to the integrity of A2P messaging channels today. It is imperative that as an industry, we rally together to deploy sophisticated defenses against these invisible yet costly attacks.”

“Understanding the scale of AIT is essential for the industry. It’s a pervasive issue that not only affects the profitability of SMS channels but also erodes trust in these critical communication platforms,” says Sam Barker, VP of Telecoms Market Research at Juniper Research. “Operators and enterprises must respond with sophisticated measures to safeguard against these fraudulent activities.”

The whitepaper by Juniper Research presents a detailed analysis of the business messaging ecosystem’s vulnerabilities, emphasizing the importance of innovative solutions and strategic collaborations to combat these challenges.

To discover more about the intricate dynamics of SMS fraud and the strategies to mitigate its impact, access the full whitepaper by Juniper Research: https://voxsolutions.co/the-impact-of-ait-sms-trashing-on-the-market-juniper-research-whitepaper/

About VOX Solutions:

Vox Solutions simplifies, improves, and optimises Voice and SMS channels using the latest innovations in technology. The company enables mobile operators to monetize their A2P services in a sustainable way, leveraging proprietary technology.

Vox Solutions utilises its multi-award-winning anti-fraud technology, VOX-360, to offer a reliable, accurate and real-time view of operators’ voice and SMS services. By partnering with operators, Vox Solutions provides secure & reliable 2FA services to enterprises, globally.

For MNOs, Vox Solutions is focused on monetization of SMS and Voice services, being the first  company in the market to offer a Flash Calling (Voice A2P) end-to-end solution.

For the enterprise segment, Vox Solutions focus on A2P messaging, A2P & P2P Voice, while also providing solutions focused on Cloud Communications.

Its unique VOX-360 solution also won numerous global awards for the anti-fraud, flash call authentication and AI/ML innovations.

About Juniper Research:

Juniper Research was founded in 2001 by the industry consultant Tony Crabtree, in the midst of the telecoms and dot-com crash. The business was fully incorporated in February 2002 and has since grown to become one of the leading analyst firms in the mobile and digital tech sector.

Juniper Research specialises in identifying and appraising new high growth market sectors within the digital ecosystem. Market sizing and forecasting are the cornerstones of our offering, together with competitive analysis, strategic assessment and business modelling.

We endeavour to provide independent and impartial analysis of both current and emerging opportunities via a team of dedicated specialists – all knowledgeable, experienced and experts in their field.

Our clients range from mobile operators through to content providers, vendors and financial institutions. Juniper Research’s client base spans the globe, with the majority of our clients based in North America, Western Europe and the Far East.

www.juniperresearch.com

Vox Solutions contact:                                         Juniper Research contact:

Name: Antonia Zgondea                                             Name: Sam Barker

E-mail: marketing@voxsolutions.co                        E-mail: sam.barker@juniperresearch.com

Phone number: +85230083754                                Phone number: +44 (0)1256 830001/475656

Rural UK broadband ISP Wildanet, which back in January 2023 secured the £36m state aid funded Project Gigabit broadband roll-out contract to cover more than 19,250 hard-to-reach premises across rural parts of Cornwall in South West England (here), has today announced that the first 1,000 homes on the new network have gone live. The Cornwall […]

Fibre optic broadband supplier Emtelle UK, which is a global manufacturer of blown fibre, cabling and ducted solutions for network operators, has today announced the strategic acquisition of Ridgemount Technologies, a UK based manufacturer of fibre optic cable connectors and sub-systems. Ridgemount are perhaps best known for their FBEAM™ and Venturi™ ranges of fibre optic […]

Welsh internet provider Ogi, which is building a multi-Gigabit speed Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network for homes and businesses across South Wales, has today opened its new 70km long diverse “high-capacity digital route” into the region – boosting their network capacity, resilience and offering a mix of wholesale products. The privately-backed project, which was officially announced […]

Customers of Sky Broadband’s old G.fast based “Ultrafast” broadband packages on Openreach’s UK network, specifically those looking to upgrade to one of the provider’s latest full fibre (FTTP) based packages, are still struggling to do so – after several years – due to the ongoing lack of a smooth upgrade path. In case anybody has […]

The national UK telecoms, media and internet regulator, Ofcom, has today begun the early evidence gathering and development phase for their next major review of the UK’s wholesale telecoms market – Telecoms Access Review 2026 (TAR), which will look to make changes that “promote competition and investment” in gigabit broadband and business connectivity. In case […]

Broadband ISP and network operator KCOM, which is the dominant operator of Hull’s broadband and phone network in East Yorkshire, has today responded to Connexin’s negative criticism (here) of their recent feasibility study on infrastructure sharing (cable duct and pole access) by offering rivals a “quicker way forward“. At present KCOM holds Significant Market Power […]

Insight

At Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2024, we caught up with the Mauritius Telecom executive team to discuss their ongoing cloud transformation process

Mauritius Telecom has been on a cloud transformation journey for over a decade now, having first introduced cloud services as early as 2010. Since then, the company has continued to scale up its operations, using its cloud infrastructure as a source of new revenue at a time when traditional telco revenue growth is slowing dramatically.

Th company’s most significant step in this direction came in 2020, when the company’s data centre in Rose Belle was certified as Tier 4, enabling the launch of a public cloud infrastructure-as-a-service platform.

“We are right now in Phase 2.0, which is bundling our bandwidth with our cloud solution,” explained Kapil Reesaul, CEO of Mauritius Telecom. “Our strategy is to move to Phase 3.0, which is going to be in early 2025, by combining artificial intelligence and big data with our cloud solution offering.”

This infrastructure-as-a-service offering has enormous potential, according to Reesaul, who sees major opportunities in the business, consumer, and government sectors.

“The B2B segment, especially SMEs, has a high potential given that government digital strategy will drive them to use more and more IT solutions such as desktop-as-a-service and storage-as-a-service,” he explained. “The consumer and home market is also important, with smart home solutions such as CCTV-as-a-service and the IoT increasing demand.”

Of course, embracing the cloud and services related to it is also a major challenge, one that telcos like Mauritius Telecom cannot face alone.

Yagianath Rosunee, Mauritius Telecom’s CTO, explained how using a variety of partners has paramount to the company’s holistic approach, giving them the additional flexibility they need to reach these varied markets.

“Small partners are more agile than us in the application and in the integration part of the cloud business. So, what we are trying to do is in fact to have a strategy of including small partners so that we can penetrate the market quicker,” explained Rosunee, adding that integrating AI and big data into the company’s cloud solutions would be key for targeting different markets in the future.

“A stronger partner will be the key success factor for the transformation of Mauritius Telecom, for the digital transformation and also for the cloud transformation of Mauritius Telecom.”

You can watch our full interview with Kapil Reesaul, CEO of Mauritius Telecom and Yagianath Rosunee, CTO of Mauritius Telecom, from the link below:

Press Release

Serveo and Telefónica Tech have carried out an innovative pilot project for the Community of Madrid that allows the inspection of traffic accidents and the state of its roads with drones. This is a pioneering project that shows the potential of drone technology to promote safer, more efficient and sustainable mobility.

Both companies, together with the operator Navalair, have carried out a 4.6 kilometres drone flight out of visual range from the North Zone Road Maintenance Centre in La Cabrera (Madrid) to a simulated accident at kilometre point 1+300 of the M-631 road, with the aim of optimising the inspection of accidents and speeding up the response of the Serveo service in critical situations.

Drone technology will make it possible to quickly assess the scene of any incident that occurs on the roads, speed up the response of the conservation and emergency services and improve the care of the people involved in the accident. In addition, drones provide a complete aerial view of the accident scene, which can be particularly useful for further investigation in the case of complex accidents.

The pilot project has also simultaneously inspected 13 kilometres of the M-608 road with LiDAR technology using a drone piloted from a moving vehicle, with the aim of obtaining a cloud of points for subsequent processing and analysis by Serveo and the Directorate General of Roads, Department of Housing, Transport and Infrastructure of the Community of Madrid, which will allow the necessary actions to be planned to improve road safety on the infrastructure.

Cristina Aragón, head of innovation at Serveo, said: “This project demonstrates Serveo’s commitment to road safety and efficient infrastructure management, placing us at the forefront in the implementation of innovative solutions to promote safer and more sustainable transport.

Alfredo Serret, Global Head of IoT at Telefónica Tech, said: “We are very proud to carry out this innovative project with drones in the field of mobility that will improve road safety and speed up the response in case of accidents. It represents, without a doubt, an exciting step forward in the management of transport infrastructures and the prelude to being able to carry out this type of flights in the future with 5G technology”.

Pedro J. Capote, CEO of Operadora Navalair, said: “This project has been a great challenge for our company. We have been able to demonstrate once again that drone technology is a great tool when it comes to obtaining data and images, among other of its multiple uses, with the resounding success of the operation. It has been a great pleasure to work hand in hand with the Telefónica Tech and Serveo teams, two giants that undoubtedly work every day to improve services for all users”.

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